Someone to Watch Over You
by The Passionate Admiral
Summary: Stray cats have been disappearing all over the city. Macavity is up to something. His newest sinister plot remains a mystery to all. However, Admetus is determined to find out what is going on and lessen the city's problems, even if he has to do it alone
1. Real Inspiration

Someone To Watch Over You

Author: The Passionate Admiral

Rating: K+

Disclaimer: I own CATS no more than Pauly Shore can win an Oscar.

Plot: Admetus has always been a shy member of the Jellicle Tribe. But he's always had the desire to contribute something to both the tribe and all the other cats in London. One day, he discovers that he has the potential to make this contribution all on his own.

Early one morning, Admetus walked through the clearing in the Jellicle Junkyard. Most of his friends were still asleep, and he generally preferred spending a little time alone in the morning.

He approached the tallest pile in the Junkyard and started climbing up it. It was a little steep, but Admetus was not acrophobic.

After thirty seconds, he reached the top of the pile. He sat at the top and looked all around him. He got a great view of the city of London from that height. He could see the buildings, the trees, and even the roads.

London was a beautiful place; it had always been Admetus' home, as well as the home of everyone else in the Jellicle Tribe.

But despite its outward appearance, London, like any other major city, was not entirely a utopia.

Admetus was well-aware of the crime-rate in the city, as well as the numerous crimes that were committed every day, even though most of them went unnoticed. There were forgeries, assaults, robberies, and several atrocious crimes that he did not even wish to think about.

These crimes were not restricted to humans. There were many animals in the city that committed acts that went against their species's values. There were dogs, birds, mice, and many other animals that conducted such horrid acts. Worst of all, there were many cats involved in crime. Some of them were ones that the Jellicle Tribe knew, such as Macavity the Mystery Cat.

Admetus had a strange ambition to do something about this unfortunate circumstance. But he was just one cat. What could a single cat do to contribute to the security of the animal population of an entire city?

"What'cha thinking about, 'Metus?" a sweet female voice interrupted his meditation.

Admetus turned around to see a white and brown queen-kit smiling at him. It was his mate, Etcetera.

"I was just lost in deep thought, Cetty," he answered her.

"About what?" she asked.

"Nothing of great significance," he answered.

"Okay," said Etcetera. "I was just about to have breakfast. I was wondering if you would like to join me?"

"Of course I would," he grinned at her. Admetus had not realized that he had spent an entire hour thinking on top of the junkpile.

He and Etcetera went back down to the clearing. There, they found Admetus' older brother, Plato, with his mate, Electra.

"Glad you could find him," Electra grinned at her best friend.

"How long were you looking for me?" Admetus asked.

"About twenty minutes," said Plato, "I can't believe it took us that long to look up."

"I can," said a grey, white, and brown Tom lying on the trunk of the TS-E1 car a few feet away. He was Pouncival, Etcetera's older brother.

"Gee, thanks, Pouncival," Admetus said sarcasstically.

"You're welcome," Pouncival leered. Then he got up and left the other four alone.

"Let's eat!" said Etcetera.

During breakfast, the four of them talked about their hobbies and various other things. They talked about how excited they were about the upcoming Jellicle Ball, but all of them avoided mentioning the Mating Dance, as it was still a somewhat uncomfortable topic for Electra and Etcetera.

A few hours later, Admetus was on his own again.

While the rest of the kittens were playing together in the junkyard, he was sitting to the side, watching Etcetera. The two of them had much in common.

Etcetera hated all the pain and suffering going on in the world just as much as he did. But emotionally, it affected her much more than him. She was afraid of the dangers of the outside world, and she wanted them to end too. In fact, just a few days earlier, they had seen a stray cat getting massacred and killed by a group of vicious dogs. Admetus would have intervened to save the cat, but the dogs had intimidated him.

Presently, Admetus' thoughts went back to Etcetera. She took up a lot of the space in his mind. He loved her with all his heart; she loved him just as much in return. He would do anything for her, and he always wanted to see her happy.

Admetus thought about all the crimes in the city of London, and then he thought about Etcetera. The two of them would never really go well together.

And so on that spot, Admetus decided that he would do something to bring the crime rates amongst animals in the city down. If not for the other cats in the city, it would be for his mate.

But there was only one question that he needed to answer for himself: How could this be accomplished?

**I know this was a mostly uneventful opening, but the story will get more exciting in the next chapter!**

**Review, please!**


	2. The Contribution Begins

**Note: Sorry it's taken me so long to update! I meant to update weeks ago, but I got into this terrible accident on the highway. My car caught on fire and I lost everything in it, including my laptop, which had all of my files on it. I'm amazed I made it out without a single scratch. Fortunately I had everything replaced for free (including my car and laptop, as they were insured), so no worries. After working on my Mungojerrie/Rumpleteazer fanfic "Choices" over Spring Break, I decided to pay this fanfic more attention. So without further ado, let's get on with it.**

Admetus was still wondering what sort of contribution he could make by nightfall. He sat on top of a pile of crates by the trunk of the TSE-1 in the clearing. He was listening for all the evening sounds that emanated from London.

Admetus liked to spend the evening listening to the city. He liked being in a junkyard right on the edge of London's largest city; it taught him assertiveness.

Etcetera usually sat with Admetus and listened to the city with him. But that night, she was with her friends Electra, Jemima, and Victoria in the clearing. The four of them were in the center of the clearing, surrounding Rum Tum Tugger.

Admetus thought the way Etcetera acted around Tugger was rather… adorable, to say the least. Although Cetty was by far Tugger's biggest fan, her feelings for the Curious Cat paled in comparison to the feelings she felt for her dear Admetus.

Normally, Admetus did not mind it when Cetty hanged out with the others near Tugger. But he found that he was somewhat unsure, based on how Tugger was waving his hips and doing some pelvic thrusts so close to her face.

That type of behavior disgusted Admetus. But secretly, he could imagine himself do the same things with Etcetera. The only difference would be that they would do those sorts of things in private.

However, it was still a few months before Etcetera would come of age. She would not be old enough to mate until the next Jellicle Ball. Until then, all she and Admetus could do was wait. But they both knew the wait would be worth it.

Tumblebrutus and Pouncival came over to Admetus and sat down next to him. "Evening, 'Metus," said the mischievous kittens.

"Evening, Tumble, Pounce," said Admetus, still keeping his eyes focused on Etcetera.

"What's on your mind?" asked Tumble.

"Nothing special," said the ginger and black tom.

"Oh, okay," Pounce looked in the direction Admetus was looking, and grinned. He looked at his shy older friend and said "Is it something about Cetty that's on your mind?"

"You could say something like that," Admetus gave a slight nod of the head, "But it's a little more diverse than that."

"Would you like us to go get her for you?" inquired Tumble.

"No, you don't have to," said Admetus.

"Are you sure?" said Pounce, "We wouldn't mind. She is our sister, after all."

"If I wanted to speak with Cetty, I would go up to her myself," said Admetus, a little impatiently this time, "Is that understood?"

Pounce and Tumble looked at each other in slight confusion, and said "Umm… sure. You make your point quite clear."

Admetus just sighed and said "Guys, I'm sorry if I sound a little tense. I just have a lot on my mind right now."

"We understand completely," said Tumblebrutus.

Just then, Pouncival whispered into his brother's ear, "Hey, let's invite him."

He didn't do a very good job of whispering; Admetus could hear him completely. He looked over his shoulder and asked "What do you mean? 'Invite me' where?"

The two mischievous brothers smiled down at him from their elevated positions. Pouncival started to explain "We understand that you've been somewhat under stress recently, so I just figured that you need a distraction."

"What sort of distraction?" asked Admetus.

"Well, as you may know, tension between the Pollicle Dogs and the Pekinese dogs has been rapidly getting worse," said Pouncival, "By tomorrow night, there's supposed to be a huge brawl between the two tribes on St. John's Road."

"Pouncival and I decided to go observe the fight for ourselves," said Tumble, "We were wondering if you would like to accompany us."

"Is anyone else going?" asked Admetus.

"Well, our Mom wanted someone to accompany us 'just in case,' so Alonzo is coming as well," said Pouncival.

"But, we know that he's just as interested in the fighting as we are," said Tumble.

"So, what do you say?" asked Pounce.

Admetus sat thinking for a while, and then he answered "No, thanks. I think I'll just stay here with everyone else."

"Are you sure?" asked Tumble.

"Quite," said Admetus, "I don't possess the interest in violence that you do."

"They're only dogs, Addie!" said Pounce, "I mean think of it all: the exciting face-off, the mad barking, the brilliant tactics (maybe just semi-brilliant; they are stupid dogs, after all!), the vigorous tests of determination-"

"The spilled blood, the rotting corpses, the money spent on cleanup in city maintenance," Admetus continued sarcastically, "No, thank you. Maybe I'll join you some other time."

Pouncival and Tumblebrutus just shrugged. As they got up, Tumble said "Suit yourself. But if you change your mind, just let us know. We'll be glad to have you join us!"

Then the two mischievous brothers left.

Admetus continued to sit alone. Again, he watched Etcetera play with her friends and he listened to the city lights.

Admetus knew full well that the Pekes and the Pollicles were planning to face each other off, and now he knew the location: St. John's Road. There was usually a police dog on duty there, but at a certain time of the night, he usually got a drink at the Wellington Arms pub. Once he was gone, anything could happen between other dogs.

Just then, an idea popped into Admetus' head.

All this time he had been thinking about ways to bring down the crime level in the city. Stopping a fight between the Pekes and the Pollicles would certainly be a great way to start this process.

He made a decision. Tomorrow night, he would go down to St. John's Road. But not with Pouncival, Tumblebrutus, and Alonzo. No, instead, he would go on his own, and somehow, break up the fight between the dog tribes long before it got out of hand.

Even though he was only a cat, he was willing to put his own life on the line for this matter.

Admetus only had one real problem- how could he accomplish this without getting attacked himself?

While some of the other cats in the tribe thought that Admetus could make very intimidating faces, he was sure that he had a long way to go before he could scare a large group of Pekes and Pollicles.

He paced in circles, pondering the possibilities of how to present himself. Just then, something fell off the junk pile above him and hit him on the head.

"Ow!" he cried. He looked up and around, but nobody was there. Then he looked at the object that had fallen on his head. It was a comic book; a DC comics brand one, to be precise.

Admetus was rather fond of comic books. He was amazed by how humans could come up with such creativity. He picked up the comic book and looked at it. The two characters he saw on front were Batman and Superman.

He did not know much about them, but he did know that they were two of the most popular superheroes in the DC Comics franchise. They were also two of his favorites. Superman possessed various types of great superhuman powers that allowed him to overcome just about any obstacle. While Batman possessed no such powers, he easily compensated with his supreme intelligence and professional hand-to-hand combat.

Admetus smirked and said to himself "If only I could do what those guys did. Bringing down the crime rate would be much easier."

Admetus stood completely still for a moment, and repeated his last sentence to himself. Slowly, an idea started forming in his head. He whispered to himself "If humans can dress in elaborate costumes and fight crime… why can't cats do it, too?"

A few moments later, his meditation was interrupted by Etcetera. Admetus quickly hid the comic book and bid his mate good evening.

"Is there anything I can do for you, Cetty?" he asked.

"No, but I have an idea," she said, "Let's see who can do a more stylish high kick, 'Metus."

Admetus had a unique way of performing a high kick. He slowly rose his right lower leg into the air by his side, and he moved the paw on that leg up and down.

His high kick was executed with grace and care. Etcetera was equally flexible, but she was a little less graceful than Admetus. She actually wound up kicking herself in the head!

Admetus managed to catch her before she fell over. After the two of them managed to stop laughing, Cetty said "Well, I guess I'll turn in for the night. Goodnight, 'Metus."

"Goodnight, Cetty," Admetus kissed his mate goodnight and watched her retreat to her den, which she shared with her brothers Pouncival and Tumblebrutus, and her parents Jellylorum and Asparagus.

Admetus then brought out the comic book and looked at the cover once again. After staring at it in deep thought, he said to himself "If I don't do this for London… I'll at least do it for Etcetera!"

Admetus then went off to search the junkyard for some supplies.

In one pile, he found a few piles of unused spandex. He took a black-and-cream-colored roll of the substance and put it to the side.

In another pile, he found a pair of small goggles. He also found two very small blinking lights that were still in working condition, and some red bulbs to go with them. He managed to find some working batteries in the next pile.

After gathering up everything he needed, Admetus took everything back to a part of the junkyard where he could work alone and without distraction.

First, he picked up the roll of black and cream spandex. Using a pair of garden sheers, he cut it in a certain manner. When he was done, he sewed it together using an old sewing kit. The result was a type of outfit made entirely out of spandex that fitted Admetus just perfectly. He put the outfit on to test its flexibility, and he found that it was both comfortable and expandable enough for him.

Next he took the goggles. He punched a hole in either one of them, and inserted the tiny blinking lights with the red bulbs. He connected the bulbs to a battery pack, and put them on. He was able to see clearly through the goggles, but he could not see through them on the other side. That was exactly what he wanted.

Admetus also found a black wig amongst a certain pile of rubbish. He tore off a certain amount and fastened it onto his head. He was even able to hid the battery pack from the goggles under the wig.

The last thing Admetus did was take a collar he found in the pile and fasten it around his neck.

When he was done, he looked in a mirror he found in that same part of the junkyard. He certainly looked intimidating enough to scare a person, and he hoped he would be able to scare a few dozen dogs into submission.

The last thing Admetus needed to himself was a name. He thought of everything from The Moonshine Feline to The Peacekeeping Ex-Kitten to Purr-sonified Help to Ed (He liked the name Ed). In the end, he narrowed it down to The Tom With No Name, and another name.

He decided that he would choose a name later. For the present, he just needed to get some sleep and reserve his energy for the next day. He took off his new costume, hid it, and went to his den. There, he collapsed into his bed and quickly fell asleep.

…

The next night, at about ten o'clock, Alonzo, Tumblebrutus, and Pouncival headed out of the junkyard for St. John's Road. A few minutes later, Admetus slipped out without anyone noticing him.

Admetus was wearing the costume he had created just the previous day. But he had made two slight modifications to the costume. First, on the "gloves," he had attached a bunch of small and thin blades. He had done this to make his costume look even more intimidating. Second, he had spray-painted a large black "R," surrounded by patch of white, onto the front of the costume. He had done this almost purely for style and image enhancement.

Anyway, Admetus took every shortcut he knew to get to St. John's Road as quickly as possible. He managed to get there long before the other three toms did.

Just as Admetus got there, the big Police Dog stepped into the Wellington Arms for a drink. A few moments later, a Peke and a Pollicle just happened to meet each other. They barked at each other a few times. Before long, some more Pekes were appearing at the door and the windows of various buildings.

It was then that Tumblebrutus, Alonzo, and Pouncival arrived. They sat on the top of a wide stone banister that went up a staircase to a certain building. From there, they were able to catch a superb view of the vicinity.

Before long, the Pekes were crawling out one by one. The Pollicles soon came out in single file and marched around. The fighting was imminent at this point. Even a few Pugs and Poms had decided to join the fighting!

Soon, the barking could be heard all throughout the vicinity. Many humans moved away from the scene as quickly as possible. Some were very afraid about what was going to happen on that street tonight. Some of them even went so far as to ring up the Fire Brigade.

Just then, Admetus stalked out of a small basement flat, crawled towards the dogs, and finally leaped towards them. He landed right in the middle of the group.

All the dogs quickly stopped barking and moved away from Admetus. He slowly turned around and stared at all of them. His glare was both unsettling and frightening to the dogs.

Admetus' goggles shined brightly with the aid of the red light bulbs and the battery pack. They made his eyes look very mysterious to the dogs.

'Metus gave out a great yawn, revealing his powerful jaws. Then he raised his right leg into the air. After all of this, he gazed around at the dogs and allowed the hair on his wig to stand on it.

After all of this had taken place, the Pekes and the Pollicles quickly took warning. Admetus looked to the sky and gave a great leap. The dogs all scattered like sheep, every last one of them.

A few of them went to attack Admetus. But 'Metus was strong enough to defend himself against these dogs. He was very good in close combat.

In the end, a few Pekes and Pollicles lay defeated on the ground before Admetus. One of them looked up at him and said "Who… who are you?"

Admetus just smirked down at the wounded dogs and answered calmly "My name is unimportant. But you can just call me… the Great Rumpus Cat."

A few minutes later, all the Pekes and Pollicles had departed from the streets, and not one member from either tribe was still there by the time the Police Dog returned to his post. Admetus had left as well, leaving Pouncival, Alonzo, and Tumblebrutus on the banister in a state of partial confusion. They could only guess as to what just happened.

**Review, please!**


	3. A Promise

Note: Sorry that this chapter's so short. The next one will be longer; I promise!

Alonzo, Pouncival, and Tumblebrutus could not believe what they had just witnessed. They had been expecting a fight between two feuding tribes of dogs. Instead, the battle had been avoided altogether by an ominous-looking cat dressed as a superhero.

One would have thought that they would have been disappointed that the battle had not taken place, but instead, they were far more impressed and excited by what had happened in its stead.

"I'm telling you, no one is going to believe any of this!" said Pouncival as the three of them headed back home.

"Yeah, that's for sure." Tumblebrutus agreed, "If we tell them, they'll probably think we were delusional or something."

"Well, I don't think we can just keep this a secret," said Alonzo, "Perhaps we should inform them of this incident."

"Perhaps we should," Pouncival nodded.

At that same time, Admetus was taking another route back to the junkyard. He was moving at a much faster pace.

_I cannot believe how easy that was;_ he thought to himself, _I must either look more intimidating or more stupid than I thought. Either way, that would really be saying something._

Six minutes later, he arrived at the Jellicle Junkyard. He went in through a hidden entrance underneath a fence and moved through the shadows to remain undetected. He went to an uninhabited part of the junkyard to get out of his costume.

By the time he was finished undressing, the other three toms had returned to the junkyard.

Admetus hid his costume and casually sauntered to the clearing. There, he found that Tumblebrutus, Pouncival, and Alonzo were informing everyone else about what they had just witnessed.

"Then out of NOWHERE, this one cat jumped out of a basement flat and landed in the middle of the group!" Alonzo told them, somewhat overexcitedly.

"He just jumped right in front of everyone?" said Asparagus, raising an eyebrow. "That would be a very unwise thing to do."

"This guy didn't think so!" Tumblebrutus emphasized, "He also wore this very elaborate costume. It was like something you'd read out of a human graphic novel!"

"Well, then what happened next?" asked Electra.

"The dogs scattered in all directions!" Pouncival told them, almost close to hysterics, "A few of them tried to attack the cat, but he fended all of them off. But that's not the best part! The best part came at the end, when one of the dogs lying on the ground asked the cat who he was. The cat held his ground and answered 'My name is unimportant. But you can just call me… the Great Rumpus Cat!'"

Right then, someone laughed very loudly. Everyone turned and saw Admetus sitting a few feet away from the back of the group. He was clutching his stomach and guffawing.

"He ACTUALLY said that?" he said, now just chuckling slightly, "Are you guys on catnip or something?"

"We're not kidding, 'Metus!" said Tumblebrutus, "This really did happen! The battle was finished before it was even started!"

"By a single cat?" Admetus laughed out loud again. "Excuse me for saying so, but that sounds very improbable!"

"You can call us crazy," said Alonzo, "But we know what we saw! One lone tom dressed in a costume stopped the fight!"

Admetus just shook his head and humorously rolled his eyes, saying "Whatever you say."

Then he turned around and walked away from the group.

Once he was out of sight, all the Jellicles turned back to Alonzo, Pouncival, and Tumblebrutus. "Tell us more," Skimbleshanks beckoned them.

Admetus had, of course, been acting that whole time. He had researched everything about being a superhero in his now vast yet private collection of graphic novels. Each and every one of the superheroes had been very serious about keeping his or her secret identity a secret. The grand majority of them possessed at least a few characteristics that were opposite those of their superheroes' personalities. Some of them even pretended to despise their alter egos in order to keep their cover. Admetus had decided to emulate their behavior in order to prevent his fellow Jellicles from developing any suspicion.

However, he did know of some cases where superheroes went too far and blew their cover because of how greatly they opposed themselves when they were in "secret identity mode." So, Admetus decided to pace himself and only pretend to doubt what anyone said about The Great Rumpus Cat.

Later that night, Admetus was sitting on top of a pile of junk, humming a tune under his breath. He was looking up at the dark sky, searching for stars. All of a sudden, he felt a paw being placed on his shoulder. Admetus jumped and turned around to see who had touched him. He quickly calmed down when he saw that it was only Etcetera.

"Good evening, Cetty," he smiled at her.

"Good evening, 'Metus," she smiled in return, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm just stargazing," he answered sweetly.

"Would you mind if I join you?"

"Oh, no, not at all," he scooted over to make some room for his mate. Etcetera lay down next to Admetus and the two of them stared at the nighttime sky.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" said Etcetera.

"Mmm-hmm," Admetus nodded, still looking at the sky.

There were a few moments of quietness between the two of them. Then Etcetera asked "What do you really think?"

"About what?" he inquired.

"About that story Alonzo, Pouncival, and Tumblebrutus told everybody earlier," she specified, "Do you honestly think they made it up, or do you think it may be of some authentic quality?"

Admetus took a moment to contemplate his answer. Then he turned to Etcetera and told her "Well, if it that story was told only by Tumblebrutus and Pouncival, I would be almost certain that their story was entirely fabricated."

Etcetera nodded her head, saying "I understand what you mean. My brothers are not exactly the two most truthful toms I've ever seen."

"However, Alonzo was with them, and Alonzo CAN be very serious," Admetus continued, though he knew that sometimes Alonzo could be just as immature as Pouncival and Tumblebrutus, "So, I believe that their story may have some valid merit to it. But you have to admit; it does seem very unlikely that what they witnessed could have actually happened."

"That is an excellent point," Etcetera admitted, "And between you and me, I wonder if you, I, or any of the other members of the tribe will encounter this 'Great Rumpus Cat' in the future."

Admetus shrugged and said "It's possible. It would be interesting to meet such a figure."

There were a few more moments of silence. Etcetera penetrated the silence when she said "Addie, can I ask you something personal?"

"Of course, Cetty," he answered straightaway.

Etcetera turned to her side and rested on her arms. Then she asked Admetus "Do you love me?"

He just looked at her and said "What kind of question is that, Cetty? Of course I love you!"

Etcetera smiled at him again and said "Well, the Jellicle Ball is a few months from now, and I believe it's the first one where you and I can both perform the Mating Dance."

Admetus thought about what she said; then he nodded and said "Yes, that is true. I'm looking forward to it. Are you?"

"Yes, I am," she nodded, "Well, you see, on the subject of the Mating Dance. I was… well, uh… I was… wondering… if, uh… if…"

Admetus sat up and placed his paw on Etcetera's cheek. He told her "Cetty, let me take over from here."

She quickly quieted down. Admetus took her front paws in his and said "Etcetera, will you perform the Mating Dance with me this year?"

Etcetera squealed in delight – at both being asked and not embarrassing herself through asking – and wrapped her arms around Admetus. She hugged him tightly. Soon, Admetus returned the hug. Etcetera answered him "Yes, yes, I will!"

Admetus held her close and told her "I'm glad you will. I look forward to it."

For a long time, the two of them remained embracing each other. Finally, Etcetera said "'Metus, I love you… so, so much!"

Admetus whispered "I love you, too, Cetty."

In his mind, he thought: _And I won't let anything happen to you. No harm will ever come to you. Ever._

**Review, please! Your opinion really does matter to me!**


	4. Getting Busy

Note: Sorry for the wait. I've been busy on my other fanfics. I don't know why, but it seems like I spend some time working on one fanfic, then I work on another one, and then I work on a third one, etc. I'm sure some of you know what that's like.

The next morning, a very interesting article made the front page of the newspapers of London. The article was a story of an ominous-looking cat that had prevented a battle between two local tribes of dogs. That had happened just the previous night. The few witnesses had reported what they had seen, but even the most thorough of their descriptions were vague at best.

Not a single human being knew what to make of the matter. The idea of such a thing happening seemed very absurd to them. However, cats all over the city were gossiping about it. The matter had attracted the attention of all the housecats, the alley cats, and even the strays.

The reasoning is simple: news of this sort travels much more swiftly and evenly with cats. Even if they do not show it, they are very attentive of what happens around them, especially when what happens around them is unprecedented.

The Jellicles had been among the first ones to know of this strange affair. The adult cats did not gossip much about the matter, but the kittens – being innately curious – talking on and on about it.

"It really was amazing," Pouncival recounted, "I never saw anything like it in my life."

"Do you remember everything that happened?" asked Victoria.

"Yes, but you actually had to be there to believe it was real," replied Tumblebrutus.

"Well, if anything, I guess I was wrong," Admetus admitted to Pounce and Tumble, "That cat must have been real. I mean, the two of you, Alonzo, and the London Press can't all be wrong."

"Hey, no hard feelings, Addie," smiled Pouncival, "We can't blame you for doubting us."

"We probably would have been just as skeptical if our positions were reversed," said Tumblebrutus.

Admetus shrugged as Quaxo said "This can only leave us wondering about the future."

"How do you mean?" Victoria asked him.

"For all we know, this might have only been the Rumpus Cat's first appearance," clarified Quaxo.

None of the other kittens had considered this possibility yet. Except for one, of course. And this particular tom **knew **the Rumpus Cat would turn up again.

A few days later, in an anonymous street in London, a family of stray cats was running very quickly down the block. An Animal Control van was parked further down the street. Two of the men from that truck were following the family of strays close behind. Both of them had long nets in both hands, and to any cat, they looked more like hunters than Animal Control employees.

The family of strays was composed of an adult tom, an adult queen, and four kittens. All of them were running as fast as they could away from the Animal Control employee.

One of the kittens was running at the very back of the group. She accidently tripped and landed flat on her stomach. In her fall, she injured one of her paws.

One of her siblings heard the commotion and turned around. He saw his sister on the ground, struggling to get up. Then he saw the Animal Control agents. He ran over to his sister and tried to get her back on her feet, saying "Come on! We've got to get out of here!"

"I'm trying!" she shouted, "My paw hurts too much!"

"Well, you've got to try!" her brother tried to incite her to get up. But by the time he had succeeded, the Animal Control agents were upon them. One of them brought his net down on the two kittens. They tried to get free, but they were trapped.

The mother cat looked over her shoulder and saw that two of her children had been nabbed by the Animal Control workers. She started to run back to them to help them, but her mate stopped her, saying "No! They'll catch you, too!"

"I'll put these two in a kennel," the man that had caught them said to his colleague, "You get the rest of them."

"I'm on it," said the other man, going after the other strays.

By then, the kittens' mother reluctantly ran in the opposite direction with her mate and their two other kittens. Soon, they were chased into an alley. But to their extreme misfortune, the alley was blocked by a dumpster.

The four strays turned around and saw the other Animal Control agent slowly walking toward them with his net raised. To them, it was an extremely horrifying sight.

The man smirked and said very disturbingly "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty…"

Soon, he was standing right in front of the strays. He was about to bring his net down on all of them, but then he heard a heavy metallic sound resonate in front of him.

The man looked up and saw a very small figure standing on top of the lid to the dumpster. He looked a little closer, and he saw that it was the silhouette of a black and cream cat with abnormally smooth fur.

After a moment of silence, the cat brought one of his front paws up to his face and pressed it against the side of what appeared to be his eye. Suddenly, the cat's eyes started flashing bright red.

"What the hell is that?" said the man.

After an eerie silence, the cat jumped off the dumpster and lunged at the man. He flew directly into his chest, knocking him off his feet.

The four strays in that alley just watched as the man fell onto his back. The black and cream cat landed on the man's chest. He looked nervously at the feline as it stared back at him through its flashing red eyes. After a moment, the cat jumped off the man and landed in front of the other strays. He gestured to them to run.

The strays promptly took his advice. The other cat ran out of the alley with them and upon emerging from the alley, he saw the other Animal Control employee with the two kittens in his net.

The black and cream cat ran up behind the second man and dove right in front of him. The man stopped in his tracks and stared at the ground ahead of him. Then, with stupendous alacrity, the black and cream cat lunged forward so that he was directly underneath the net. He swiped one of his paws at the bottom of the net, severing the thick cords of the net with his sharpened claws. The two kittens dropped out of the net, and just before they hit the ground, their liberator caught them.

"What the-" said the man, still shocked at what had just happened.

By the time he realized it all, the new cat had run off with the two kittens.

He saw that they were still scared, so he told them in a deep voice "Do not be afraid. You are almost out of harm's way."

This cat caught up with the other strays and handed the two kittens over to their parents.

"Oh, thank you, thank you," the mother said over and over.

"Get them to safety," he stated in his deep voice, "I will create a diversion."

The other cats did not say a word. They simply complied with his orders.

The cat ran back over to the Animal Control van and went inside it via the door at the driver's seat. The keys were still in the ignition, but the car was in park. The cat took a short metal rod from the floor at the passenger's seat and forced it down on the brake. At the same time, he took the gear on the steering wheel and switched it from Parking mode to Driving mode.

A moment later, the cat removed the pipe from the brake. The van slowly started inching forward. After about a foot, the cat jumped out of the van and landed on his feet.

The first Animal Control employee had come out of the alley by then. He noticed the van was moving and pointed it out to his coworker. The two of them turned their attention away from the strays and focused their attention on the van.

The street went slightly downhill, which caused the van to gradually accelerate. Before it got out of control, one of the men managed to get to the door at the driver's side and jump in it. He gradually put pressure on the brake until the van had come to a full stop. Then he put the van in park just before it could run into the curb.

By that time, the strays and the black and cream cat had gotten away.

They were already an entire block away from the Animal Control van. Once they were sure that they were safe, the strays repeatedly thanked the black and cream cat for helping them escape.

"It is my pleasure to help others," he spoke in that same deep voice, "But I would recommend that you be more careful and avoid encountering Animal Control again."

"Yes, of course," agreed the adult tom, "But before you go, may we know your name?"

Their rescuer just gazed at them for a few moments, and he replied "You can call me… The Great Rumpus Cat."

Then he disappeared into the shadows.

A few more nights later, three men were being pursued by members of Scotland Yard in the streets. They were wanted felons who had just robbed a local bank a few minutes earlier. Each of them was armed with at least one gun.

At one point in their run, they came to a deserted four-way intersection in the streets. There, the robbers decided to split up. They each went down one different road.

One of the robbers ducked into an alleyway right before a few of the policemen ran onto his street. After about fifteen seconds, two police officers ran right past his alley. After another thirty seconds, the robber peered out to make certain that the coast was clear. Once he had, he ran in the opposite direction of the street.

But before he could take three steps, something ran directly in front of him in a split-second. The next thing the robber knew, he was falling to the ground and shouting in pain.

These sounds alerted the policemen. They returned to the street and found the robber on the ground, holding his foot. The police ran over to him to apprehend him. When they did, they discovered that there four small tears in his left pant leg located just above his foot. Each of those tears revealed a deep cut in the man's skin.

A minute later, another of the robbers had come to a different alleyway. He found a ladder that led to the roof. He put his bag of loot over his shoulder and started climbing up.

But before he could get very far, something zoomed past his right arm. The robber let go of the ladder and collapsed onto the ground, also shouting in pain.

The policemen who were chasing him found him with four tears in his shirt, along with four deep cuts in his arm underneath those tears.

The last of the robbers had managed to avoid getting caught so far. But before long, he was cornered at a bridge. Over his shoulder, he heard the policemen shout "Give up! You're surrounded!"

"Never," he whispered under his breath. He reached for his gun in his pocket, grabbed it, and speedily turned around.

Before anyone could fire a single shot, something rushed directly behind the robber. He shouted and dropped onto his stomach.

The policemen moved in to arrest him. When they got close enough, they saw that the felon had four tears in the back of both his shirt and jacket, with a deep cut in his skin underneath each of them.

"What could have done that?" said one of the officers.

Another of them noticed a black and cream cat standing close by. The cat had flashing red eyes and extremely sharp claws.

"Maybe that cat did it," he said apprehensively as he turned to the other policemen.

"What cat?" inquired one of his coworkers.

"That…" began the cop that had noticed the cat. But when he turned back around, the cat had disappeared. He finished "… cat."

The other policeman looked at him strangely; he just said "I know he was there!"

"Actually, I think he's right," said one of the others, who was kneeling next to the robber, "These cuts on this man's back are fresh, and they are consistent with the mark a cat would leave."

A few more nights after this took place, one of those same policemen was walking down a street. He was off-duty at the time. On his walk, the same cat with the flashing lights jumped in front of him and stood up straight on the ground. The policeman watched as the cat made a few gestures to him, and pointed out a door on the block. The policeman almost felt as if the cat was trying to tell him something.

He went up to the door and – after a moment's hesitation – knocked a few times. A moment later, the door was answered. The policeman could not believe his eyes. The person was the leader of a gang that Scotland Yard had been hunting for nine years. This must have been the gang's headquarters!

Fortunately, because the police officer was off duty, he did not have his uniform on at that time. Otherwise the gang leader would have recognized him.

"May I help you?" asked the gang leader.

The officer knew he could not take the gang leader thought quickly and answered "Umm… no, I'm sorry. I thought this was my friend's house, but I just remembered that he lives next door."

"Well, next time, remember first, then knock," grumbled the gang leader. Then he slammed the door in the police officer's face.

The police officer turned around and looked for the cat, but he was nowhere in sight. Within an hour, he reported what he had just learned to his fellow officers at Scotland Yard. Not long after, the gang leader and his accomplices were arrested.

All three of these events had made the front page of all the London newspapers the day after they took place. Many people noted that each of them had involved a cat. It did not take long for people to conclude that the cat was the same one in all three scenarios. Soon after, people realized that it was the same cat that had stopped the fight between the Pekes and the Pollicles.

The Great Rumpus Cat's popularity was growing steadily throughout London. Humans were left wondering about him, but the city's cat population was filled with curiosity.

In the Jellicle Tribe, this curiosity was shared. Each of the kittens in the Tribe had developed a different idea about the "Great Rumpus Cat" and his motivations.

Plato suggested that he was a thug that saw some sort of personal benefit in doing what he was doing, such as manipulating the minds of both people and cats. The others quickly dismissed this idea; based upon his actions, the cat could have been anything but a thug.

Jemima theorized that he was a blessing from the Mystical Divinity of Unashamed Felinity that had come to restore order on the streets of London. The others praised Jemima for her reasoning and her innocence, but they dismissed her theory as well; it just did not seem like it could be authentic.

Quaxo hypothesized that he was another magical cat that did good deeds. The others decided that this hypothesis was not very likely; there were only two cats alive that were known to have magical powers: Quaxo himself and his father Macavity.

Electra proposed that he was a public servant that operated under a secret identity. This seemed to be the most reasonable assumption so far, but The Rumpus Cat did not seem to be a servant. If anything, he seemed to do what he did on his own accord.

Pouncival posited that he was simply some lunatic that behaved very impulsively yet genially to others. Naturally, his assumption did not have a lot of merit to it; The Rumpus Cat did not appear to be insane.

Victoria postulated that he was some type of professional dancer that utilized his various moves to moonlight as a do-gooder. The other kittens quickly rejected this absurd idea, as they knew that Victoria could sometimes be a little obsessed with dancing.

Tumblebrutus speculated that he was an undercover member of a covert group that was committing acts of charity to gain publicity for his association in time. To the kittens, the very idea of even a **human** doing that seemed somewhat ludicrous.

Then, it was Etcetera's turn to state what she thought about the Rumpus Cat. She told them that she simply believed that he was just an ordinary cat that felt a certain obligation to better the environment around him. So far, her opinion was the only one that everybody found to be reasonably authentic.

Finally, they got to Admetus. The others asked him what he believed the Rumpus Cat's motivation was. He had chosen his answer carefully. He told them "He's obviously a superhero that's come to obliterate all crime from the face of London."

Admetus wanted to give the others an outrageous answer to further draw suspicion away from him. To his immense satisfaction, he knew his little plan had worked when the other kittens burst out laughing at his supposition.

"That's got to be the best one yet!" declared Pouncival.

"You think he's a freaking SUPERHERO?" exclaimed Electra.

"I'm sorry, but that is one dumb supposition!" commented Plato.

Only Etcetera did not laugh. She spoke up and said to the others "At least Admetus' hypothesis is more rational than most of yours!"

The other kittens quickly stopped laughing. Etcetera seemed to be angry with the others for mocking Admetus. Normally, she never got angry, but such a thing was possible.

The others quickly apologized to Admetus for ridiculing his theory. He forgave them.

"Whoever the Great Rumpus Cat is, I hope I can meet him someday," Etcetera privately told Admetus later on.

Admetus smiled at her and said "Who knows, Cetty? Anything is possible."

**Note: I uploaded this chapter in June, but this is me speaking to you in December, now that I've finally returned to this story. Starting in the next chapter, this story will become darker. It won't get too dark, though. For a while, at least...**

**Review, please!**


	5. Strange Happenings

**Note: I am SO FREAKING SORRY for this six-month hiatus. I know; it's inexcusable. But I've had my first semester of college on my mind, as well as another of my CATS fanfics – "The Boatswain" – to work on. As of right now, at over 170,000 words, "The Boatswain" is the LONGEST CATS fanfic that has ever been posted on this site. Aside from that business, I was stuck on this thing for a while, but now I finally decided where to go with it. The previous chapters have been somewhat bright and easy. But now, things will get a little darker and more dramatic. But trust me; this story will still be very engaging. This chapter mostly focuses on the introduction of some OC characters I've developed, but Admetus will be in the next chapter a lot more.**

Across town, a family of stray cats were running as fast as their legs could carry them. The family was composed of an adult tom, his mate, their three kittens, the adult tom's father, and his mate's brother and his own daughter. They were being pursued by a group of hostile-looking Pollicle dogs. The strays tried to elude them, but the Pollicles were very good runners.

The family of strays could hear the dogs' barking behind them. They were very, very close.

The chase went on for a long time. It ended when the cats ran into an alley. The other side was boarded shut by huge wooden planks.

"Quick, try to pull out the planks!" shouted the adult tom.

Working quickly, he, his mate, and his mate's brother desperately tried to extract the nails for the wooden planks. They managed to get a small board near the ground off, but that was the only one they could force off before they could hear the dogs approaching the alley.

The strays were mortified by their grave misfortune. But the mother was determined to at least save her youngest.

She turned to her mate and told him "The hole's too small for most of us. But I think Heurion can get through."

The tom looked over the hole, and then turned to his youngest kitten. The young tom was slightly smaller than his siblings, as he was the runt of the litter.

His father leaned down in front of him and told him "Heurion, I need you to listen to me very closely. Do I have your attention?"

The kitten nodded vigorously, even though he was very frightened by the sounds of the Pollicle dogs approaching ever closer to the alley.

His father asked him "You see that hole in the planks?"

The kitten nodded again.

"Your mother and I will help you get through it," his father went on, "Once you're through, run as fast as you can to your Aunt's house. Stay there until further notice. I do not want you to so much as look over your shoulder until you get to safety."

"But father…" whispered the kitten, "What about you?"

"I'm afraid we will not be joining you," his father replied in sadness, "You're the only one who can fit through the hole. But tell your Aunt to be wary of the Pollicles."

The kitten felt a sort of inner-struggle come over him; his own father was asking him to abandon his family in their darkest hour.

"Is there no other way?" he asked hopefully.

His father slowly shook his head. "I'm afraid not, my son. Now you must go. We have very little time."

Heurion nodded and turned to the hole in the wall. His parents helped him squeeze his way through. Once he was safe on the other side of the wooden planks, his parents and the others turned their attention back to the front of the alley.

The kitten remained behind; he hid himself in the shadows and watched through the hole intently. If most of his family were about to be wiped out, he wanted to be with them until their end.

Finally, the Pollicles reached the front of the alley way. They growled at the strays and slowly began their approach.

The leader of the group – a gold and black Border collie – whispered something to the other members of his pack.

At the same time, the adult tom was getting his family into a defensive formation. He was determined not to go down without a fight.

After about a minute of intense waiting, the dogs charged towards the cats.

The adult tom lunged towards the dog closest to him, but he was almost immediately overpowered by that dog.

Soon, the other dogs were upon the other cats.

Heurion expected to witness a number of horrific deaths. Instead, something very strange and unusual happened.

A violent brawl ensued, but the cats were the only ones who were actually trying to harm their opponents. The dogs actually seemed to be going to length to simply overpower the cats without delivering any amount of significant damage to them. Given the Pollicles' larger numbers and size, this did not take long for them to manage.

Soon, all seven cats had been overcome by the Pollicles. Each of the strays had been forced onto their stomachs by at least two different dogs. They all struggled to break free, but the dogs were too powerful.

Once all of them had been properly restrained, the Pollicles turned their attention towards their leader.

The Border collie slowly approached his subordinates and looked around at the strays. Then he scoffed and stated "Let's see what we've got here."

His pack members had lined up so that he could examine them one-by-one. He first approached two dogs that were restraining the adult tom. Those two dogs lifted him off the ground and held him in front of their leader.

The Border collie looked as if he was inspecting the tom. He examined his chest and arms, as well as his overall appearance. Along the way, he made comments such as "Fine muscles… seems to be in excellent health. Yes, I'd say we have a prime specimen here."

The adult tom was confused by the Border collie's words. He was expecting them to kill and feast on him and his family. But he kept his mouth shut as the Border collie went on to examine the others. Along the way, he made similar comments which were generally of the same nature. His only main criticism regarded the adult tom's elderly father, who was a little feeble and weak. The Border collie only concluded about him "I guess we can't expect them all to yield promising results. Oh, well; this seems to be our only disappointment tonight. I'm certain our employer will find a use for him."

Once the Border collie was finished examining each of the seven cats, the adult tom said slowly "Aren't you going to… finish us off?"

"You mean devour you?" remarked the Border collie.

The tom hesitated at first, and then he slowly nodded his head. Once he did, the Border collie and his colleagues started laughing hysterically.

Once their laughter died down, the Border collie struck the tom in the chest as a gesture to remain silent. Then he stated "No, we do not intend to devour you. For two reasons: One, we do not eat anything so unclean."

The adult tom and a few members of his family sneered at the Border collie's slur. The Pollicle leader continued to speak to the cats: "And two, we have something else planned for you instead. Something **very **special. But no questions will be answered here. So I would advise you all to kept quiet unless you are instructed to speak. Anyone who refuses to remain quiet will be severely punished. Is that understood?"

The seven cats all nodded timidly.

The Border collie then addressed his colleagues: "Gentlemen, it is time to make a delivery to our employer!"

With that, the Pollicles filed out of the alley in two straight lines, continuing to restrain the strays.

Once they were gone, the kitten on the other side of the wooden planks curled up into a ball. He was so confused by what he had just witnessed, but he was far more scared than he was confused. Almost every member of his family had been taken away by Pollicles. He was all alone in the city.

At that moment, he did not want to go to his aunt's house. He did not want to go anywhere, in fact. He just wanted to stay in that alley until somebody came to him.

The kitten started to cry; he was just so afraid. He had never been alone in the city. Being alone at night in a small area made it all the more worse.

After a few minutes of sobbing, he whispered in a prayer "Everlasting Cat, help my family. Please, let me see them again. I beg you to spare them from a horrible fate."

…

Across town, several boats were docked at a busy marina along the Thames. All of the boats had been designed and built by cats. They were operated by cats as well, as were all of the shops.

At around eleven o'clock, a vessel pulled into the harbor and the Executive Officer – a brown and black tom – disembarked onto the docks. He made his way over to a kiosk that specialized in arranging deliveries for hardware containers.

A young orange and grey cat was standing at the front of the kiosk, busying himself with some paperwork. He noticed the tom approaching him, but did not fully look up until the tom was standing directly in front of him.

The officer took something out of a pouch in his belt. He held it up in the air for the kiosk manager to see. It was a glass test tube. Inside of it was a fresh blood sample.

"What is that?" asked the kiosk manager, even though he was not especially interested.

"You don't recognize this?" said the officer, referring to the test tube, "Then I assume you know why I'm here."

"No, why are you here?" inquired the manager, "I thought our business was concluded."

"You supplied us with the wrong shipment," replied the officer, "I asked you for metal test tubes. Instead, you gave me glass."

"So, what's the difference?" said the manager.

"'What's the difference?'" repeated the officer, "Allow me to enlighten you: Glass shatters at subzero temperatures. Metal does not."

There was a short pause. Then the manager remarked "I'm still waiting for your point."

"My ship sold the containers to the crew of a ship in the Siamese fleet," explained the officer, "In turn, they supplied several other ships in their fleet with the tubes, as they needed them to transport DNA samples. Whenever the Siamese transport DNA samples, they always store them in a freezer to properly preserve their contents. One of the ships used the test tubes to transport a set of DNA samples. Before they reached their destination, the test tubes shattered because of the cold. All five hundred units."

"I'm not to blame for your method of transportation," stated the manager defensively, "I was never informed of it in the first place."

"But I still asked you for metal!" said the officer, raising his voice a little.

"This is not my problem," said the manager simply, returning to his paperwork.

"'Not your problem?'" stated the officer in disbelief.

"Yes, and I am getting a little tired of you repeating everything I say," responded the manager.

There was another pause. Finally, the officer told the manager "Macavity wants to know where the shipment came from. The Siamese vessel that delivered that shipment could not come up with a good excuse, so Mouveilyr had the Captain demoted for 'inexcusable incompetence.' But he still wants to find out who supplied the Siamese with the test tubes. If you don't fix this error, I'll see to it that he finds out."

The manager quickly looked up from his paperwork and turned back to the officer. He could tell that the officer was deadly serious.

Finally, he gave in and said "Alright, I'll make arrangements to have your ship supplied with a new order of test tubes. But I'll see to it that they're made of metal this time around."

"Good, see that you do," said the officer, placing the test tube down on a counter in the kiosk, "I'll leave this here for you."

The manager gazed at the test tube with the blood sample for a few seconds. Then he looked back up at the officer. For the next few seconds, he constantly looked back and forth between the two. Finally, he gestured to the test tube with an expression that seemed to ask "Is this it?"

In response, the officer sternly nodded his head. He seemed to take on a business-type demeanor different from the one he had been using up until this point. He leaned in closely to the manager's ear and whispered "That wasn't easy to come by. I'm certain it will provide you with satisfying results."

The officer stood up straight again and returned to his other business-type demeanor stated "I'll have the glass test tubes rounded up and transported back here. I'll expect the metal ones to be delivered soon after."

The manager agreed. With that, the officer turned around and headed back to his ship. Once he was back on board, the kiosk manager closed his shop for the night, took the test tube with the blood sample, and went to the back room.

The back room was packed with much more sophisticated technology. There were computer terminals and a variety of science equipment.

There was also an ochre and tan female tiger cat in that room. She was sitting at one of the computer terminals, looking over the data on the screen.

When she heard the door to the room open, she looked over her shoulder and saw the manager entering the room, being sure to close the door behind him.

The queen scoffed and said "Isn't it a little early to close up the shop, Peter?"

"Yes it is, but I had to, Zehela," said Peter, the manager, "Commander Thogren just paid me a visit. At first I thought he was just going to complain about a miscommunication regarding his last order, but just before he left, he gave me this."

Peter held up the test tube with the blood sample.

Zehela stood up and focused her attention on the test tube. She asked slowly "Is that what I think it is?"

Peter nodded and stepped closer to another one of the terminals. He ordered his associate "Bring the analyzer online."

Zehela sat down at this terminal and accessed its mainframe. Before long, the computer flashed a message saying "Please insert genetic material."

"Alright, I've got it up," said Zehela.

Peter carefully screwed the cap off the test tube and deposited the contents into a slot attached to the computer.

Before long, another message came up on the screen that said "Processing…"

While they waited for the machine to read the blood sample, the two cats talked.

Zehela remarked "I'm surprised Thogren managed to convince one of the Siamese to give him a test tube that contained and actual sample."

"He didn't," stated Peter, "He stole it."

"How do you know?" she asked.

"I've known this guy for a long time," he told her, "It's very easy to read him. I can tell all on my own that he smuggled it out of a Siamese frigate."

"I see," she said.

A few seconds later, the machine made a beeping sound and produced its results on the screen.

Peter and Zehela studied it closely.

"I've never seen anything like this before," commented Zehela, "This DNA is unlike anything I've ever encountered."

"It must be mutated," Peter theorized, "But maybe we can use the computer to filter out the anomalous patterns and produce the original DNA sequence."

"That will be a little tricky, but I'll try," Zehela told him. She entered a series of codes into the computer to modify the DNA's computer code until she was certain she had the original DNA sequence.

Once she was finished, Peter clapped his front paws together once and said "That's it, Zehela! Great work!"

Zehela looked up at her partner and asked him "So this is it… this is… the proof?"

He nodded and told her "This is both proof and evidence. Now I know what happened to him."

**(Note: In case you're wondering, this "him" will not be explained for a few chapters. But it will be addressed.)**

**Review, please! Just hit that little icon below this sentence and write whatever comes to your mind about this chapter, whether it be good, bad, or neutral!**


	6. Tension Arises

By eight o'clock the next morning, most of the cats at the Jellicle Junkyard were up and about. Munkustrap and Demeter were sitting on top of the TSE-1 in the main clearing. From there, they supervised the kittens.

The discussion about the Rumpus Cat seemed to have died down. The kittens played Hide-and-Seek with each other for a long while.

At one point, Alonzo rushed into the clearing and approached Munkustrap very quickly. Catching his breath, the white and black tom told the Jellicle Protector "Munk, there's some cats at the gate who wish to speak with you."

"About what?" queried the black and silver tabby.

"They wouldn't say," replied Alonzo, "All they told me was that it was urgent."

Munkustrap nodded and followed Alonzo to the front entrance of the junkyard.

This caught the attention of several of the kittens, including Admetus.

"I wonder what's wrong?" stated Electra.

"Maybe it's just some matter of business that Munkustrap needed to attend to," suggested Pouncival.

"Let's just wait and see," said Quaxo.

About twenty minutes later, Munkustrap and Alonzo rushed back into the clearing. Munkustrap jumped back on top of the TSE-1. Demeter was a little alarmed when she saw the somewhat tense look across her mate's countenance.

She asked him tentatively "Is everything alright?"

"Gather everybody together," was all he said in response, "We need to have a full-tribe meeting immediately."

Demeter was still somewhat confused and surprised, but she agreed to her mate's demands.

After Munkustrap, Alonzo, and Demeter managed to get everybody gathered in the clearing, Munkustrap got back on top of the TSE-1. Old Deuteronomy was resting on his large tire, which was situated right next to the wrecked car.

Once Munkustrap had everybody's attention, he opened with an apology and then went in to the full explanation. He announced these words to his fellow Jellicles "I'm sorry to have to call you all together on such short notice, but it is imperative that I enlighten all of you about some strange and disturbing recent events. I was just visited by two different toms. One of them was Dysen, a member of a neighboring tribe of cats – the Prometheus Tribe."

"Is not that tribe the one that dwells in the forest?" inquired Jennyanydots.

"It's one of them, Jenny," Munkustrap confirmed, "The whole Prometheus Tribe does live in the forest... At least, it used to. According to what Dysen told me, less than half of that tribe is still there now."

That last sentence disturbed several of the Jellicles profoundly.

"What do you mean by that, Munkustrap?" asked Skimbleshanks, "What happened to them?"

"Three nights ago, their home was attacked by a group of Pollicle dogs," Munkustrap started to explain. When he saw several members of the tribe build up horrified expressions, he quickly added in "But they did not ravage the tribe's numbers in the way you might imagine. No, the Pollicles did something very different from their usual routine."

"How so?" asked Asparagus.

"The Pollicles directly assaulted the Prometheus Tribe's home, but they made a great effort to avoid damaging any member of the tribe," Munkustrap continued, "Instead, they just used enough force to restrain them all. Then they divided them up into two different groups. The Pollicles tied up every member in the smaller group, but the larger group was still restrained by the Pollicles themselves."

"What happened next?" queried Admetus.

"The leader of the pack seemed to… examine each person in the larger group," Munkustrap went on, "He almost seemed to be giving them a rather brief physical evaluation. Once he was finished, he had his colleagues take away all the cats in the larger group while he stayed behind to say a few words to the smaller group. Dysen was in the smaller group. He told me that the leader of the pack of Pollicles only said this to him and the others: 'You should consider yourselves lucky to have two homes. I'd suggest you keep it that way, or you'll soon have no home, like your friends. Do not try to pursue us; you will only bring them further misfortune.'"

There was a brief pause, and Munkustrap finished with "After that, the Pollicle leader untied Dysen so that he could untie the others. Immediately after Dysen was free, the Pollicle left the vicinity. Once Dysen had freed everyone else from their restraints, they took a head count. Out of the tribe's original forty-six members, only seventeen remained."

Some of the other Jellicles began muttering amongst themselves about what the Protector had just told them.

Finally, Old Deuteronomy gestured for silence. Soon it was quiet again, and Old Deuteronomy turned to his son. He asked him "Did Dysen mention if there was anything about the cats in the smaller group that notably distinguished them from the cats in the larger group?"

"Yes, there was one major distinction," Munkustrap replied, "The people in the smaller group all wore collars. No one in the larger group had one on."

"Interesting," Old Deuteronomy remarked as he sat thinking on his tire, "So, the Pollicles took the strays, but left the cats that had owners?"

"You are correct, Father," stated Munkustrap, "It did not take long for Dysen to make that same connection. The other cat I spoke with just a moment ago had a similar story. His name is Strenwo and he is employed as a Maintenance Overseer in the Feline Navy."

"What did he tell you?" asked Jellylorum.

"He told me that several crewmembers from various ships have been disappearing recently," Munkustrap responded, "Their families have gone missing as well. All of them were strays. They all seem to have been abducted by Pollicles, as well. Strenwo actually witnessed one of these abductions."

"So, all the strays in the navy are being taken away?" assumed Cassandra

Munkustrap paused again, and then he answered "No, not all of them. It would appear as though there are two circumstances that spare the strays from the Pollicles. The first circumstance is something known as 'authorization.' For this, a stray must have a paper slip known as a 'license,' which somewhat functions as a ticket or a notice. The Pollicles seem to keep their distance away from any stray that possesses one of the slips. The other circumstance is much more conspicuous, and more curious."

"Curious in what way?" queried Plato, "What is the other circumstance?"

Munkustrap seemed to hesitate for a moment. He took a moment to ponder on whether or not he should actually tell the others. He kept looking over in Tumblebrutus' direction, as he felt that answering Plato's question would incite an undesirable reaction from Tumblebrutus.

Finally, he just sighed and stated "The Pollicles have never gone after a stray who is a member of the Siamese fleet."

Indeed, several people were shocked to hear this. Tumblebrutus was shocked the most. He stepped up closer to Munkustrap and stated "So, the Siamese must be working with the Pollicles. I should have known they would do something as dishonorable as that!"

(Note: the following paragraphs are basically a very brief synopsis of my CATS fanfics "The Boatswain" and "Choices." But you do not have to read them in order to understand what is going on. If it seems unclear to you, just let me know and I'll clarify some things for you.)

Munkustrap could hardly blame Tumblebrutus for his reaction. Only a little over six months earlier, Tumble had served on a sea vessel. He had actually served under the famous Bravo Cat Growltiger himself. Growltiger was the sworn enemy of cats of foreign race, primarily the Siamese. He had a reputation of being a fierce and brutal savage, but Tumble soon discovered that people had gravely misunderstood Growltiger. He was actually a civilized tom who only used violence against those who threatened his company and his ship, the _Demagogue_. Tumblebrutus had only worked for him for a month, but in that month, Tumble became good friends with the Bravo Cat and his crew.

After the Siamese attacked the _Demagogue_ at East Molesey, they had the Bravo Cat walk the plank. Tumble, as well as a few others, had been off the ship on a mission at that time, but they got to Molesey just as the attack took place. Together, they tried to kill the Siamese leader – Genghis – for what he had done. Tumble had almost killed the Siamese commander on his own, but he had been disabled at the last moment.

In the end, it turned out Growltiger had miraculously survived, thanks to a charm performed by Coricopat and Tantomile (whom Tumble had invited to join in on the mission). The only side-effect was that Growltiger was rendered comatose, and as far as Tumblebrutus knew, he was still comatose to the present day.

Once all of this had taken place, Growltiger's first officer, Grumbuskin, assumed command of the surviving crew and decided that they would have to go into hiding until further notice. He divided the thirty-seven survivors up into two groups. The smaller group of twelve would remain in Hampton with the comatose Growltiger while the larger group of twenty-five would travel back to London with Grumbuskin. Tumblebrutus had also been dismissed from the crew's services by Grumbuskin, even though he very much wished to remain with them. After Grumbuskin had given him an honorable discharge, Tumble gradually put his pirate life behind him. But he still thought about it often.

Unfortunately, most of Growltiger's allies had defected to the Siamese fleet once word of the Bravo Cat's defeat got around. It was also discovered soon after that Macavity had helped the Siamese plan their assault at East Molesey.

However, Tumble managed to enlighten the public on the truth of Growltiger's life by making a musical out of it with the help of his grandfather, Gus the Theatre Cat. After this musical was produced, most civilian cats condemned the Siamese fleet and withdrew their support for their actions.

Still, Grumbuskin would not be fully satisfied until Genghis died under his paws. Three months later, he fulfilled that desire.

Over the course of the next three months, Macavity's top henchcat – Mungojerrie – had become a member of the Jellicle Tribe. He had even become the mate of another member of the tribe named Rumpleteazer.

After several failed attempts to kill Mungojerrie for his treachery, Genghis offered his assistance to Macavity once more. So Macavity's henchcats kidnapped Rumpleteazer and used her as bait to lure in Mungojerrie.

Fortunately, Mungojerrie knew of Grumbuskin's hideout and asked him for his assistance to save his mate. Because the offer included the opportunity to kill Genghis, Grumbuskin accepted.

While the Jellicles rescued Rumpleteazer and fought off Macavity, Grumbuskin and his crewmates battled the Siamese and Macavity's henchcats. Grumbuskin managed to kill Genghis by hanging him with a long metal chain, but he was the only member of his group of twenty-five that survived the attack. He had also been backstabbed (both literally and proverbially) by Growltiger's mate, Griddlebone. She had turned on him immediately after he had killed Genghis, and she revealed that she had been working for Macavity ever since she had first come aboard Growltiger's ship.

Before Grumbuskin could attack her, three henchcats captured him and took him to the cell block. While Grumbuskin was the only survivor from his group, he had become a prisoner of the Hidden Paw.

The adult members of the tribe soon learned of Griddlebone's treachery, but they did not tell any of the kittens, especially not Tumblebrutus. They felt certain that if Tumblebrutus knew of Griddlebone's treachery and Grumbuskin's capture, he would stop at nothing until he found the thirteen surviving members of Growltiger's crew in Hampton and informed them of these events.

Three more months went by, and that came to the present day.

(Now the synopsis is finished.)

Munkustrap looked down at the young brown and white tom and told him "I know you're angry, Tumble; you have every right to be angry. But right now, there is nothing we can do about the Siamese."

Tumblebrutus sighed and stated "Very well, Munkustrap. I understand."

The Jellicle Protector looked back up at the rest of the tribe and told them "I believe we should take a few precautions. If the Pollicles are trying to round up all the strays in London, they are certain to show up here at some point. According to what Dysen told me, having a collar is a surefire way to avoid being taken away by them. How many of you are wearing a collar right now? Raise your paw if you are."

Bombalurina, Demeter, Rum Tum Tugger, Jemima, Tumblebrutus, Cassandra, Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer, Victoria, and a few others all raised their paws. Munkustrap also raised his for effect.

Once everybody lowered their paws, Munkustrap requested "All those who have collars but are not wearing them right now, please raise your paw."

This time Skimbleshanks, Electra, Quaxo, Jennyanydots, Admetus, Pouncival, Bustopher Jones, Coricopat, Tantomile, Exotica, and a few others raised their paws.

Everybody lowered their paws once more. This time, Munkustrap stated "All those who do not have collars… please raise your paw."

This time, only Old Deuteronomy, Gus the Theatre Cat, Plato, Asparagus, Jellylorum, Alonzo, and Etcetera raised their paws.

Munkustrap sighed and stated "Well, now we know where we are. I'm going to do a little investigating and see how I can find these 'licenses' which Strenwo spoke of. Until further notice, everyone who has a collar, I want you to wear it fulltime. All those who do not, I want you to watch out for the Pollicles. Please be careful; I want this tribe to stay whole."

Everyone agreed to these arrangements, as they were very reasonable and wise precautions for the Protector to make.

Shortly after this, everyone went back to their daily routine.

Admetus had noticed that Etcetera was one of the ones who did not have a collar. He felt a new source of worry hit him like a brick. He already had enough on his mind, what with his work as the Rumpus Cat and preserving his secret identity. The last thing he needed was his queenfriend to be endangered by a group of Pollicle dogs.

He went over to her and asked her "How does this all make you feel, Cettie?"

He expected Etcetera to be jittery or nervous. Instead, she seemed relatively calm. This really caught Admetus' attention, as it was somewhat uncharacteristic of her.

"I'm not really that worried, 'Metus," she replied.

"Why not?" he asked.

She smiled at her tomfriend and told him "A few weeks ago, I would have been frightened, but now that the Rumpus Cat is out there, I feel a little safer. Much safer, actually. I think that if the Pollicles were ever to come by the junkyard, he could chase them off."

Admetus could not help but smile with her. He felt a little more reassured by her words. But inside, he could only hope that her supposition was correct.

**Review, please! What do you think of this twist so far? Suspenseful? Mysterious? Peculiar? Boring? Just hit the icon below and present me with your opinions.**


	7. The Siamese Resistance

**Note: If you've read "The Boatswain," you may remember a lot of the characters in this chapter. If you haven't, don't worry. I'll explain their backstory.**

The following day, Commander Thogren was in Hampton. His commanding officer – Captain Birex – had ordered him to travel there by train in the middle of the night. His assignment was simple: attend a private meeting with two other toms at a private pub.

While Thogren's crewmates may have been in business with the Siamese fleet, they were actually strongly opposed to the Siamese, and they were part of a secret resistance targeted against the Siamese. It was called... the Siamese Resistance.

The orders Birex had given Thogren were vague; all he told him was that he had been contacted by another Captain by the name of Vearhin, who was another covert opponent of the Siamese. Vearhin had informed Birex that another group of strong opponents to the Siamese fleet were hiding out in Hampton, and that they were interested in joining the Resistance.

After receiving this message, Birex enlightened Thogren of the situation and ordered him to travel to Hampton to speak with two representatives from the group. All the details and specifics of the meeting were provided by Vearhin.

All Thogren had to do was rendezvous with the two representatives at the Bell at Hampton Pub, be cordial to them, fill them in on all the important details regarding the Siamese Resistance, and get them to travel to London to meet up with one of the founders of the Siamese Resistance.

The only part of those orders he was really concerned that he would not be able to fulfill was the last part. But he decided to just wait until the negotiations.

As soon as Thogren stepped inside the Bell at Hampton Pub, he understood why it had been chosen as the meeting place. It was very noisy, and there was a lot of activity going on. It would have been impossible for anyone to eavesdrop on a conversation there.

Thogren had been told to look for two toms: an adult red and white tabby, and a younger adult yellow and brown striped cat.

Before long, he spotted two such cats at a table in the corner in the room. He casually approached the two, and when he was within earshot, he spoke aloud "Quite a busy night in here, is it not?"

He had been instructed by Vearhin to say that to the two cats. Their response would confirm whether or not they were the representatives.

The two toms looked up at him. The yellow and brown one replied "Suppose so; there's a bustle of activity going on 'round here."

"I've seen it busier than this; believe me," commented the red and white tabby.

Thogren had been told to expect those sentences as the response to indicate he had found the two representatives and not just look-a-likes. Now that he was certain he had met up with the right cats, he sat down at the table with them.

"So, you gentlemen wish to join the Resistance?" Thogren asked rhetorically.

"You are correct, sir," answered the red and white tabby, "We've been wanting to get a shot at those bastards for a very long time."

"Why?" said Thogren firmly, "What's it to you?"

"They have the blood of our comrades on their paws," answered the yellow and brown tom, "We wish to purge their domain on the Thames River just as much as you do."

"You certainly have the proper spirit," commented Thogren, leaning back in his seat a little, "But first, I believe introductions are in order. I am Commander Thogren of the HMS _Chadwick_."

"My name is Roshedam," stated the yellow and brown striped tom, "I went to the navy academy, but I resigned my commission shortly after graduating. I just found that the job didn't agree with me."

"I see," remarked Thogren. He turned to the red and white tabby and said "And you are?"

"Ralpharite, Intelligence Officer of the _Demagogue_," answered the tabby.

Thogren sat up straight once he heard that. "The _Demagogue_? You mean Growltiger's old ship? That's impossible! The Siamese captured that vessel; its crew is entirely of their race."

"Perhaps I should clarify for you," stated Ralpharite, "I was part of the original crew."

Once again, Thogren was silent. Then he spoke again "You served under Growltiger?"

"That is correct," replied Ralpharite, "Most of the people in our group served under him as well. I am one of the last thirteen survivors."

"I was led to believe that there were only two survivors," stated Thogren, "Those two were First Officer Grumbuskin and Boatswain Tumblebrutus."

"I assume you saw _Growltiger's Last Stand_?" said Roshedam.

"Yes, I did," Thogren replied, "Quite an interesting musical. I found it to be very enjoyable."

"Well, there are a few details it gets wrong," Ralpharite enlightened him, "However, I was responsible for making it that way. Tumblebrutus is still alive, but Grumbuskin dismissed him from the crew's services because of his age. For that reason, we do not count him as one of the thirteen survivors. However, he and his grandfather were actually responsible for the creation of _Growltiger's Last Stand_, which – as you may recall – was a fierce blow against the Siamese influence."

"Fascinating," remarked Thogren, "What became of Grumbuskin?"

"I'll tell you," said Ralpharite, "I think our backstory will adequately convince you that we despise the Siamese just as much as you do."

"Perhaps," shrugged Thogren, listening attentively.

Ralpharite began to explain his recollection: "Grumbuskin is another of the thirteen surviving crewmembers. Six months ago, there were thirty-seven of us, including Grumbuskin. After the assault on the _Demagogue_, he decided that we had to go into hiding. Twelve of us stayed here; the rest went with him back to London. For three months, we kept in contact with each other. Our primary objective was to kill Genghis, the leader of the Siamese fleet."

"Growltiger's mate, Griddlebone, acted as our liaison," Roshedam took over, "She carried information between our hideouts. After three months of hiding, Grumbuskin found the opportunity to kill Genghis. But I'm guessing he became obsessed with that opportunity, because according to what Griddlebone told us, he just took his entire group of twenty-five and assaulted Macavity's hideout while Genghis was there."

"Griddlebone told us that Grumbuskin succeeded in killing Genghis, but he had been taken prisoner by Macavity almost immediately afterwards," Ralpharite resumed explaining, "Griddlebone herself barely got away safely. After the battle, she came back here and told us everything. She and Grumbuskin were the only members of their group who survived that attack. Everyone else was killed in the battle against Genghis' soldiers and Macavity's henchcats."

"Unfortunately, even with Genghis out of the picture, our conflict with the Siamese is far from over," stated Roshedam, "When word of your Resistance reached our ears, we decided to join your cause."

Thogren had been listening intently to ever word they told him. He was very interested in everything the two toms had just told him. He remarked "You gentlemen have certainly convinced me that you are against the Siamese. I believe you are the ideal type the Resistance is looking for. And believe me; we'll need all the help we can get."

"Why's that?" said Roshedam.

"Even with Genghis dead, the alliance between the Siamese and Macavity is still as powerful as ever," Thogren explained, "What's more, there's been some strange things going on up in London. Stray cats have been disappearing all over the city. The Pollicle dogs have been acting very oddly. And the Siamese fleet has been transporting some very mysterious cargo along the river."

"What do you mean?" enquired Ralpharite, "What sort of cargo?"

"Last week, my ship sold a shipment of glass test tubes to the Siamese fleet," answered Thogren, "One of their ships used some of the test tubes to transport a few hundred blood samples down the river. Because they preserve blood samples in a freezer, all the test tubes shattered. When another Siamese vessel met up with my ship to discuss this problem, I managed to smuggle out one of the blood samples they had on hand. Later tests revealed that the DNA in the blood was mutated."

"What type of blood was it?" asked Roshedam.

"Cat blood," answered Thogren.

"Why would they be transporting mutated cat blood?" said Ralpharite.

"I'm not sure, but the Siamese are definitely up to no-good," said Thogren, "All we do know is that Macavity is somehow involved in it."

There was a brief interval of silence. Finally, Thogren said "If you gentlemen wish to join the Resistance, you must travel to London in exactly two days."

"Why?" asked Roshedam.

"You're required to meet up with one of the founders of the Resistance before you actually join it," was Thogren's response. He took a small notebook out of a pouch on his belt and handed it to Ralpharite. As the red and white tabby took it, Thogren said "That notebook contains all the details you need to know about the Resistance, as well as how to find and meet up with the particular founder we selected for you to meet."

Ralpharite carefully took the notebook and put it into a small backpack he had placed next to his chair.

Thogren stood up, straightened his belt, and said "If all goes well, I'll be speaking to you again, gentlemen. I bid you good luck, and I unofficially welcome you to the Resistance."

Ralpharite and Roshedam also stood up. They both shook paws with Thogren. Then he left the pub without another word.

Soon, Roshedam and Ralpharite left as well and they started making their way down the street.

"I'd say that went well," remarked Ralpharite as he threw his backpack over his shoulders.

"Indeed," agreed Roshedam, "Let's just hope the others will be alright with the idea of the two of us travelling to London alone."

"I don't think that's anything to worry about, Rosh," stated Ralpharite.

"Oh, that's easy for you to say, Ralph," remarked Roshedam, "You don't have a mate and a kitten to care for."

"Rosh, they'll be fine with the others," Ralpharite assured him, "Besides, Scurtena is more than capable of looking after Kingsley by herself. And the only one who has the authority to prevent us from meeting this founder is Victor. All we need is his permission and we're all-clear."

"Yeah, I know," sighed Roshedam. The two of them walked in silence for a few minutes, and then Roshedam stated "It looks as though we are one step closer to finding Grumbuskin."

Ralpharite deeply sighed and remarked "Why do you insist on calling him that?"

"It's his name, isn't it?" reasoned Roshedam, "Besides, he specifically asked me to address him that way. Does that bother you?"

"Well, somewhat," answered Ralpharite, "It's just… the idea of a tom calling his father by his given name… I just find it a little odd."

"I don't blame you, Ralph," said Roshedam, "But I swore to Grumbuskin that I would never tell anyone that I am his son. If I did, that could compromise the safety of both of us."

"I know, Rosh," said Ralpharite, "But what about Scurtena?"

"What about her?" asked Roshedam.

"Aren't you ever going to tell her?" Ralpharite clarified.

"I deeply wish to, but I can't," Roshedam replied, "I promised my father that I would never discuss this with anyone other than Najalim, Quaftil, or you. And the only reason I can discuss it with you three is because all of you already knew of our relationship before even I did."

"That's understandable," said Ralpharite. He stopped walking for a moment and turned to face Roshedam directly. Then he spoke "But still, Scurtena is your mate, Roshedam. She's been your mate for more than five entire months. She's carrying your kitten! Your second kitten! Isn't that enough to make an exception for her?"

Roshedam did not answer immediately. He just stood there, pondering. After a little while, he said "I will tell her eventually, Ralph. But for the moment, I still want to keep it between you, me, Quaftil, and Najalim."

"Very well," Ralpharite agreed.

The two toms kept walking without another word spoken until they arrived at an old abandoned apartment building. They made their way onto the fire escape ladder and climbed to the third floor. Once they were directly outside the window, Ralpharite tapped on the glass.

A few moments the later, they heard the sound of the window's latch being turned and the window was subsequently opened up by a young tom. This tom's coat was composed of gold and red stripes and his chest and paws were white. This was Dawlimer.

"Good evening, Ralph, Rosh," he greeted the two older toms as they climbed inside the room. Once they were in, he shut the window again and fastened the latch to lock it. He then turned back to Ralpharite and Roshedam and asked them "How'd the meeting go?"

"It went rather well," Roshedam replied, "The subject was pretty straightforward, but we still got a lot out of it."

"That's good," said Dawlimer, "I was worried that it might have been a trap."

"We know, Dawl; you told us," stated Ralpharite, "Is everyone still awake?"

"As far as I know, yes," answered Dawlimer.

"Good," said Ralpharite, "Then I need you to tell them to stay awake; we're having a meeting sometime later tonight. I'm not certain when exactly it will be; just tell them to be ready."

"Alright, you got it," nodded Dawlimer. He ran out a door to get to the hallway.

Ralpharite and Roshedam followed him. Soon the two arrived in the living room. Almost the exact moment when Roshedam stepped into the main room, a colorful ball of fur zoomed towards him.

A moment later, Roshedam felt as if something was trying to squeeze him to death. But he was used to that feeling.

He looked down and saw that a very young kitten had his front legs wrapped around his waist. The kitten's coat was composed of several colors, namely grey, yellowish-gold, red, and white. He was almost a tortoiseshell. This kitten was Roshedam's son, Kingsley.

Kingsley looked up and smiled at his father, saying "Hi, Daddy!"

Roshedam smiled back and patted his son on the back. "Hiya, Kings. Glad to see you."

A moment later, a firm yet motherly and gentle voice called out from across the room "Kingsley, don't squeeze your father like that! You'll give him a seizure!"

Kingsley quickly released his father and said "Sorry, Mummy."

"It's alright, sweetie. Just be a little gentler," was the response from the same voice.

The voice belonged to a young white queen with gold and red patches who was sitting on the couch. This was Scurtena, Roshedam's mate, Kingsley's mother, and Dawlimer's sister.

"I really don't mind it," Roshedam told his mate, "It's actually a good indication of how strong he's getting."

Scurtena chuckled as her mate sat down on the couch beside her. Roshedam pulled her closer and wrapped one of his front legs around her. He placed the paw from his other front leg on her slightly protruding abdomen and let it rest there. She smiled in contentment.

Kingsley hopped up onto the couch and sat with his parents.

Ralpharite leaned up against the wall and stretched. He took off his backpack and placed it on the ground beside him.

There were three other cats in the room at that moment. One was sitting by the fireplace reading, one was sitting on the windowsill studying a chart, and one was seated in an armchair simply thinking.

All three of these cats were toms. They were also three more of the thirteen surviving members from Growltiger's crew.

The cat at the fireplace was a black and grey patched tom. He was Najalim, the Science Officer.

The cat at the windowsill was an orange and cream tom. He was Quaftil, the Chief Medical Officer.

The cat in the armchair was a cream and brown tabby tom. He was Victor, the Navigator and the crew's Second Officer. He was also the last surviving member of the senior staff. Therefore he was the leader of the entire group.

An interesting feature about Victor was that he was missing his left front paw. He had lost it during the Last Stand when one of the attacking Siamese soldiers cut it off while Victor was on the ground. Despite this fatal injury, he had managed to survive the battle. Later on, Najalim and Quaftil came up with an unusual yet effective way of replacing his paw: They surgically attached a metal clamp to his wrist and fitted it with a large metallic hook. Even though they had never done that before, they found it to be quite proficient. Their operation allowed Victor to use his left front leg once more.

The remaining eight surviving members of the crew were downstairs in the second floor at that moment. They were Tarwick – a brown and red tom – from the science department, Geilen – a calico and grey tom – from the security department, Hosangis – a tortoiseshell tom – and Arthur – a ginger and white tom – from the engineering department, Elamof – a white and grey tiger tom – from the medical department, Yves – a grey striped tom – and Shamilt – a cream and black tom – from the supplies department, and Menchul – a tan and black patched tom – from the intelligence department.

After telling the eight of them about Ralpharite's plans for a meeting, Dawlimer returned to third floor. He hopped onto a counter in the living room and rested there.

A moment later, a young red, white, and gold patched queen came out from the kitchen. She was Bellazni, the younger sister of Dawlimer and Scurtena. She was carrying a teapot, some sugar, and some cream on a tray. The tray also held a glass filled with a strange-looking liquid.

Bellazni set the tray down on a coffee table.

"Tea, Victor?" she offered the Navigator.

"Yes, please," he replied, coming out of his reverie, "The usual blend."

Bellazni got some teacups out of a cabinet and poured some tea into one of them. She added a touch of sugar and lemon and handed it to Victor. He took the handle of the cup with his hook, making sure to carefully balance it.

"Thank you, Bella," he smiled at the young queen. She smiled in return as he started drinking his tea.

"Oh, by the way, Scurt, here's your Vitality Drink," Bellazni stated as she turned to her sister and held out the glass filled with the strange-looking liquid.

Scurtena lightly scoffed and took the glass, saying "Thanks for reminding me, Bella."

As she took her first sip of the drink, Roshedam looked over at Ralpharite and asked him "Ralph, are you certain it's safe for her to drink this?"

"Of course I'm certain, Rosh!" replied the red and white tabby, smirking, "It's my own blend. I wouldn't have her drink it if I wasn't certain it was safe."

"Remind me again why you suggested she drink it three times a day," requested the brown and yellow tom.

Ralpharite sighed in partial annoyance and said "This is literally the twenty-sixth time you've asked me that, but I'll still go over it again. The drink is a combination of various healthy foods that are high in calcium, iron, Omega 3's, and other essential nutrients. It's specifically made to help a pregnant queen keep her energy up, as well as help her deal with the symptoms of pregnancy. It's also substantially good for the fetus; it can bring about strong bone development."

"I don't really mind, Rosh," Scurtena assured her mate, "I actually like its taste. It's the consistency that I'm not too hot about."

"I'll see if I can remedy that," Ralpharite told her.

There were two other cats in that group that have not been properly introduced yet.

Both of them were in an adjoining bedroom.

One of them was a middle-aged tom. His coat was composed of red and gold stripes. His fur was rough and uneven. His left ear was partially damaged, and he wore an eye patch over his right eye socket. He was the father of Dawlimer, Scurtena, and Bellazni.

This tom was the comatose Growltiger. He had been unconscious for the past six months, and he still had yet to show a single sign that he would be coming out of his coma. The other members of the group had taken good care of his body ever since the Siamese attempted to execute him.

The other cat was a white Persian queen. She stood near Growltiger's bed, watching his body. She had spent many an hour in there ever since the Bravo Cat had fallen into his coma. Everyone thought it was because she missed him, but in reality, it was the exact opposite. It was because she was proud of the power she had over him.

This queen was actually Growltiger's mate and the mother of Dawlimer, Scurtena, and Bellazni.

This queen was Griddlebone.

**Note: I know I've kinda just thrown all these characters at you, but don't worry! Everything important regarding this group's history will be explained in the next chapter.**

**Review, please!**


	8. A History Revealed

**Note: Hope you all had a Merry Christmas! I sure did! Anyway, the first half of this chapter is the story of all the characters mentioned in the past chapter. Most of them have very little personality outside of working for Growltiger, but they are only the supporting/minor characters. The ones that will be described in detail are the main/major characters.**

A few years earlier, when Growltiger and Grumbuskin were just starting to build up their domain on the Thames River, both of them had private lives outside of the sailor business.

Their private lives were relatively modest. Both of them had mates. Growltiger was mated to Griddlebone and Grumbuskin was mated to a bright yellow queen named Linnota.

This was back when all of them were young adult cats.

At one point in time, Grumbuskin and Linnota were expecting a kitten. No one other than Growltiger knew of this, as Grumbuskin wanted to keep his impending fatherhood a secret from everyone else.

Just two weeks before Linnota's due date, Grumbuskin had gone on a reconnaissance mission to Highbury Square, a small district located a few miles north of London. On that mission, he had been discovered and capture by the Siamese.

For six weeks, he had been in Siamese captivity. At the end of the sixth week, Growltiger's allies attacked the Siamese fortress and liberated all the prisoners, including Grumbuskin.

Unfortunately, when Grumbuskin returned home to London, he was greeted with terrible news.

Linnota told him that she had lost the kitten in childbirth. Grumbuskin was extremely saddened to discover this upon his return, but Linnota appeared to be downright devastated.

She was so devastated, in fact, that the two of them decided to stop trying for kittens altogether.

Linnota had actually lied to her mate. She did not think he would be able to handle the truth.

The kitten had actually survived birth. It was a yellow tom with blackish-brown stripes and a grey chest. Linnota had given him the name Roshedam.

When he was three weeks old – just one week before Grumbuskin was liberated from Siamese captivity – Linnota had taken Roshedam out while she hunted.

That was a terrible mistake on her part. She had left Roshedam at the entrance to an alley while she went to forage for mice and rates in the alley.

When she returned to the entrance, Roshedam was gone. She looked all over the area and spotted him in an Animal Control van.

She pursued the van for well over ten minutes, calling out her son's name repeatedly. Despite her admirable efforts to rescue him, she eventually lost the van.

However, Roshedam was not gone forever.

Two of the other cats on that van were a childless couple from Hampton. They had been vacationing in London at the time. They heard Linnota's desperate callings, and felt pity for her. They decided to look after her kitten while they were at the Animal Control center.

Thanks to Linnota's yelling, they were able to determine his name. For a few days, they took care of him. Then they planned a breakout with a few of the other cats.

The breakout was a huge success, and the couple took Roshedam with them, as they were unsure that anyone would continue to look after him in the shelter.

Once they were free, the couple travelled back to Hampton. There, they raised Roshedam as their own son. They taught him everything they knew: how to be successful in business, how to manage expenses and finances, and how to be a gentletom.

At one point, Roshedam returned to London only once to join the Feline Navy. Shortly after graduating, he was assigned to a frigate.

After just a few weeks, he resigned his commission. His reasoning was not because the job was too dull, too complicated, or too demanding. It was simply because he did not feel that the job agreed with him.

He returned to Hampton and found work there. After his foster parents died, he was forced to rough it for a while. But then he became involved in several different businesses. Over time, his wealth steadily increased. It was not long before he became the richest cat in the city.

Despite his prosperous lifestyle, Roshedam felt a small desire to find his real parents someday. At one point, he decided to put that prospect behind him and deemed it impossible.

But fate would eventually unite him with the father he never met.

**(For a little bit, we will turn away from Roshedam's story, but soon we will come back to it)**

Ten months after Roshedam was born, Growltiger became a parent as well.

Griddlebone had given birth to three kittens: a tom named Dawlimer, and two queens named Scurtena and Bellazni.

Growltiger would often visit his family on weekends. But at one point in time, he began to feel concerned.

He knew that if the Siamese discovered he had a mate and children, they would stop at nothing until they had their paws on them. They would be able to exploit his one possible weakness if this happened.

After realizing this, Growltiger's visits to his family began to decrease in frequency. Before long, it got to the point where he stopped visiting altogether.

Griddlebone still felt strong loyalty to her mate, and at his orders, she made up various excuses to tell her children as to why their father could not visit them.

This worked for a while, but as her children aged, they matured. They matured physically, mentally, and – most notably – intellectually. They soon discovered the real reason as to why their father stopped visiting them: he was the most feared sailor who ever sailed on the Thames.

After realizing that their parents had lied to them for so long, Dawlimer, Scurtena, and Bellazni were furious. They decided they did not want to be around their parents if they were going to lie to them in such a manner.

So in the quiet of the night, the three of them ran away from home. At that point, they did not know where they would go or what they would do, but they were determined not to go back.

They drifted around for a while until they decided to go to Hampton. They found Hampton to be a great place to resume their lives. Being the eldest, Dawlimer took responsibility of his sisters and looked after them on his own. The three of them were able to fend for themselves.

However, back home, Griddlebone was incredibly distraught when she discovered that her children were not coming home. For almost two days, she was in a stupor of deep emotional agony.

But after that, she came to an unsettling discovery: Growltiger had caused this. Had he not stopped visiting and forced her to lie to their children, they would never have run away to begin with.

It was at that very moment that Griddlebone's love for Growltiger vanished forever. She felt nothing but contempt for him from that day on.

She decided to make two main objectives: bring her children home and make Growltiger suffer. However, she did not have the means to accomplish this all on her own.

She sought out the assistance of many powerful cats in the city, asking them to assist her. But none of them had the potential to accomplish both directives.

Except one.

When Griddlebone met with Macavity the Mystery Cat in private, she pleaded for his aid. She promised to give him anything he wanted, such as money and power.

Macavity wanted neither of these. However, when Griddlebone came to him, he cunningly spotted an opportunity to gain an advantage on the Thames. The way he saw it, he had Growltiger's own mate begging him to help her.

He told Griddlebone that he would assist her, under the condition that she join his organization in secrecy.

First, he had Griddlebone contact Growltiger and inform him that their kittens had run away from home. Growltiger was shocked, but assured her that he would have his most trusted allies on the lookout for the three of them.

Over the course of several weeks, Macavity trained Griddlebone in the ways of a henchcat. Despite the fact that she was a little older than the average henchcat, she proved to be a fast learner. In fact, in a very short amount of time, she became an expert in stealth, sabotage, combat, and every other major field.

Once this way accomplished, Macavity offered the service of several of his contacts outside of London to locate her children. He combined them with the network she and Growltiger had already established to expand across much of southern England.

**(Now here is where Roshedam's story starts to clash with Griddlebone's story)**

One of the businesses Roshedam had gotten involved with was the communications network Griddlebone, Growltiger, and Macavity had established. He was one of the contacts in Hampton that remained on the lookout for their kittens.

One night, while he travelled home after a business deal, he happened to encounter three kittens who matched the description that the network had been provided with. After questioning the three for about a minute, he discovered that they were in fact Dawlimer, Scurtena, and Bellazni.

At the time, the three of them were still hiding out in a forest, fending for themselves. Roshedam offered for them to live with him in his house, away from the cold and the dangers of the outside wilderness.

The three of them were very skeptical at first, but eventually, they were able to decide that they could trust him.

Over the course of another month, he served as their caretaker. He got to know them better and vice versa. They all became good friends.

Scurtena even seemed to have a slight crush on him, which Roshedam noticed. But because she was still a kitten and he had been raised to be a gentletom, Roshedam always kept appropriate distance between himself and her.

After another month had gone by, Roshedam contacted another cat in the network named Baltrow, a cat that had also served in the Feline Navy at one point. He informed Baltrow of his success in locating the children.

In turn, Baltrow had met up with Growltiger and gave him this information. The day before this happened, Griddlebone had come aboard Growltiger's ship on Macavity's orders. That was when she officially began her function as a spy.

The same night this happened, Tumblebrutus had been added to Growltiger's crew. The Bravo Cat saw a lot of potential and skill in this young tom, and made him this offer shortly after meeting him.

Growltiger planned to have someone to bring his children home soon, but a war with the Siamese got in the way of that objective. But after a month had gone by, he was ready to bring them home.

He sent out a search party composed of eight cats. But only five of them were members of his crew. These five were Grumbuskin, Ralpharite, Tactical Officer Placondgo, Strategic Operations Officer Dominev, and Tumblebrutus.

The other three cats were members of the Jellicle Tribe. Two of them were the mystic twins Coricopat and Tantomile. Tumblebrutus had recommended bringing them along because they had the unique ability to sense the minds of others. The other cat was Jemima, Tumblebrutus' queenfriend. She had come along to contribute something to her tomfriend's work.

While these eight cats travelled to Hampton to search for Roshedam and take part in a business dealing with Growltiger's old colleague Vearhin, Growltiger had his ship – the _Demagogue _– sail on the River to the docks at Molesey.

For the past few weeks, Griddlebone had been transmitting data about the _Demagogue _to Macavity. The Hidden Paw had made the decision to ally himself with Genghis, Growltiger's most-hated enemy. But Genghis would only allow this alliance under the condition that Macavity would help him defeat Growltiger and capture his vessel.

After one day in Hampton, Grumbuskin's search party managed to find Roshedam. He took them back to his house and had them stay there as his guests for the next two days.

As Grumbuskin had predicted, Dawlimer, Scurtena, and Bellazni were unwilling to return to London. However, at one point, Jemima presented them with some letters that Griddlebone asked her to give her children. These letters were so touching that all three of the children broke down in tears.

They agreed to return to London with the search party.

All twelve of the cats travelled to the rendezvous point that Growltiger had selected: the West Molesey docks. This had been selected as the rendezvous point because the Siamese would never dare to approach this city, due to the strong anti-Siamese atmosphere.

However, Griddlebone had managed to sabotage the _Demagogue_'s engines so that they were forced to make a stop at East Molesey instead. The Siamese were not hated as much in East Molesey.

That night, the Siamese made their move.

That was the night of the infamous Last Stand. Most of Growltiger's crew had been attending a celebration at Hampton Court at the time. The rest had remained on board the ship.

When the Siamese attacked, a vicious battle broke out. Most of the skeleton crew had been killed, including three members of the senior staff: Supplies Manager George, Chief Engineer Carbucketty, and Security Chief Bill Bailey. Victor had gotten his paw amputated and he had been thrown overboard, but he managed to land in one of the surrounding sampans.

Griddlebone and another member of the crew named Farios had managed to escape via the lifeboat bay.

Grumbuskin and the others arrived on the scene just as Growltiger was being forced to walk the plank. After struggling for an entire minute in the water, the Bravo Cat appeared to be dead.

Grumbuskin's party met up with Victor, Griddlebone, and Farios just a moment later. They then decided to destroy the _Demagogue _to prevent the Siamese from using it.

Subsequently, Grumbuskin, Victor, Ralpharite, Roshedam, Tumblebrutus, Coricopat, Dominev, Placondgo, and Farios returned to the lifeboat bay. After releasing the surviving members of the skeleton crew from the brig – which included Najalim and Quaftil – they prepared to set up the self-destruct sequence on the ship.

Unfortunately, the operation failed. Farios had been killed on the bridge, and Placondgo and Dominev sacrificed themselves to destroy the engines.

Tumblebrutus had also suffered a blow to the head during a duel with Genghis, rendering him unconscious.

When everyone met up again, they made a startling yet joyful discovery: Growltiger was not dead.

Coricopat and Tantomile had actually performed a very complicated mystical charm that separated Growltiger's soul from his body and created an organic protective shield around it. The one side-effect was that Growltiger was left in a coma for an indefinite amount of time.

But things just got worse. The Siamese had assaulted the celebration at Hampton Court in an attempt to wipe out the rest of the crew. They had killed sixty-nine people, but only twenty-six belonged to Growltiger's crew.

Once everyone was back in Hampton, Grumbuskin determined that there were only thirty-nine members of the crew left out of the original ninety-five.

He decided to have twelve of them remain in Hampton with Growltiger, Griddlebone, their children, and Roshedam. Four of these twelve were Victor, Ralpharite, Najalim, and Quaftil.

The remaining twenty-five would return to London with Grumbuskin. However, before anyone went anywhere, Grumbuskin had two items of business to handle in London: find a secure hideout for his group, and return the four Jellicles to their home.

Ralpharite went with him, as did Jemima, Coricopat, Tantomile, and Tumblebrutus. While Ralpharite went to search the city for a hideout, Grumbuskin explained himself to a few members of the Jellicle Tribe.

Both Ralpharite and Grumbuskin made incredible discoveries at around three o'clock that morning.

Shortly after Ralph had found a good hideout for Grumbuskin's group, he had noticed a group of Siamese cats who appeared to be on their way to a meeting. He followed them to a seemingly abandoned warehouse. When a light came on in the second floor, Ralpharite climbed to that window and looked inside. The Siamese were in a meeting… with Macavity.

Ralpharite listened to the entire conversation. It was then that he realized that Macavity and his henchcats were responsible for the assault at Molesey.

Once the meeting was over, he returned to the docks at Westminster, which had been selected as the rendezvous point for him and Grumbuskin.

At the same time, Grumbuskin had been visiting his mate Linnota. He told her about what had gone on in Hampton, and how the crew's numbers had been ravaged.

At one point, he happened to bring up Roshedam's name. Once Linnota heard that name, she asked him certain questions about him, such as his age and appearance.

It was then that Linnota realized that her lost son was not lost anymore.

Once Linnota told her mate the whole truth, Grumbuskin was almost too stunned to breath.

After returning to Hampton, he had Najalim and Quaftil give everyone a blood test so that they could run a health exam on them. He had them draw a little extra from Roshedam and himself so that they could run a DNA sample between the yellow and brown tom and Grumbuskin.

While the DNA test was processing, Grumbuskin learned Roshedam's backstory. It very closely matched the one Linnota had told him.

The DNA test confirmed that Roshedam was indeed Grumbuskin's son. However, Grumbuskin saw to it that no one other than Najalim, Quaftil, and Ralpharite knew this.

After making a few other arrangements, Grumbuskin spoke with Roshedam in private. He planned to tell him about their relationship, but took steps to make sure he was not too straightforward.

He started out by presenting Ralpharite with a Victorian-era box. This box had been given to Grumbuskin by his own father. It was a family heirloom that had been passed down for many generations. Grumbuskin had been certain until that day that his family line would die with him.

Grumbuskin's own father had disappeared years earlier, and he had only treated the box as a catnip holder. But the night before, he decided to finally treat it with respect.

After talking more and more about his own background, Roshedam soon came to the realization that he had finally found his father.

Grumbuskin gave Roshedam the box and gave him two personal requests: to treat the box with respect, and to have an heir of his own someday.

The next day, Grumbuskin and his group returned to London. They disguised their hideout as a private bar.

Griddlebone acted as a liaison to carry information between the two groups. This also gave her the opportunity to contact Macavity and keep him up to date with the actions of the surviving members of the crew.

Over the course of the next three months, Grumbuskin became more obsessed with the idea of killing Genghis. This was the primary objective. With Genghis out of the picture, the Siamese army would have no leader.

In Hampton, Griddlebone's children all came of age shortly after the surviving crew went into hiding. Each of them made a life-changing decision.

Dawlimer had decided to join his father's crew. Victor and the others trained him in their ways expertly.

Bellazni also played a role in helped the crew. Being an expert fisher and hunter, she managed to help them by providing them with a surplus supply of food.

Scurtena finally confessed to Roshedam that she loved him. Because she was an adult at the time, he could finally reciprocate her feelings properly.

The two of them eventually became mates, and Scurtena discovered that she was pregnant shortly afterwards.

Nine weeks later, she gave birth to their son Kingsley.

Around this same time, Grumbuskin and his crew had spotted their opportunity to kill Genghis. He had been working undercover at Macavity's hideout for a long time, and when Mungojerrie had sought out Grumbuskin, the tom was determined to fulfill his desire to avenge his comrades' deaths.

Subsequently, Grumbuskin and his company attacked Macavity's hideout. They killed dozens of cats – both Macavity's henchcats and Genghis' sailors. Grumbuskin even managed to kill Genghis on his own.

But then Griddlebone turned against him and she exposed herself as Macavity's spy. Grumbuskin was then captured while all twenty-four of his colleagues were killed in battle.

When Griddlebone went back to the group in Hampton and informed them of these events, everyone was shocked.

However, they were a bit relieved that Grumbuskin had survived. Right on that spot, Victor decided to make rescuing him their newest top priority.

Griddlebone then presented the group with a new idea: She could attempt to infiltrate Macavity's hideout and become a spy inside his organization. The others were uncertain of this at first, but she managed to convince them that she was certain she could go through with it.

Of course, this was merely her newest excuse to continue relaying information to Macavity directly.

Three more months went by. Over the course of these three months, rumors of a "Siamese Resistance" travelled around the Thames.

When it reached Hampton, Ralpharite had managed to determine a way to contact the Resistance. He knew full well that the best way to retrieve Grumbuskin was to join an organization that covertly opposed Macavity's closest allies.

Now that they had some information, it would only be a matter of time before the group in Hampton could arrange a rescue operation.

Little did they know that one member of their group had the chance to badly complicate their plans…

**(Alright, enough backstory. Now we'll be concentrating on current events.)**

**Review, please!**


	9. Involvement And Hope

The group of nineteen cats had been hiding out in Hampton for six whole months, keeping in contact with only Growltiger's most trusted allies.

Most of Growltiger's allies had abandoned him after news about the Last Stand broke out. Several even joined the Siamese fleet out of greed or cowardice.

Several of the allies fought against the Siamese fleet for a long time. However, as a favor to Genghis, Macavity had his top assassins hunt down and murder their families. All the resisting allies quickly lost their spirit and were easily defeated by the Siamese.

However, some of Growltiger's more prudent allies had also gone into hiding, or gone undercover on neutral ships.

All the same, the surviving members of the _Demagogue _dared not to come out of hiding until they had enough reliable support to back them up.

The events of the future brought about the possibility of hope for them.

…

In the third story of the abandoned apartment, everyone was just lounging, as if they were unsure as to what would happen that night.

After several minutes of uninterrupted silence, Ralpharite picked up his backpack off the ground and approached Victor. He commented to the brown and cream tom "I suppose you'd like to know how the meeting went?"

Victor smirked and replied somewhat firmly "Yes, I **would** like to know how it went, Ralph."

Ralpharite sat down in a chair next to Victor and placed his backpack on his lap. He opened it up and removed the notebook. After placing his backpack on the ground again, he leaned over to Victor and held it out, telling him "The conversation itself was brief, but this notebook should contain enough useful information to give us a good idea of who we are working with, as well as what we are dealing with."

Victor nodded and leaned closer to get a good look at the notebook. Ralpharite opened it up and turned to the first page.

The first few pages of the notebook simply covered a basic introduction to the Siamese Resistance. This part of it was intended to remind the readers that once they joined the group, they would be swearing their undying loyalty to the movement to purge the Siamese reign on the Thames.

After that, they came to a section about all the safety regulations and precautions that the organization took to ensure the secrecy of its members.

Next in the notebook was a section about what the Resistance expected of its members, and the obligations they would be asked to carry out.

Ralpharite and Victor spent about an hour studying the thick notebook's contents. They made sure to cover every last aspect that was mentioned.

When they were finished, Victor remarked "I'm amazed at how much… detail they put into the description of the Resistance. I mean, looking all the way throughout it, I could not find anything that could confuse anyone or leave anyone asking questions about it. Not one loophole, not one ambiguity, not one possible misinterpretation in the text."

"I guess they wanted to make it that way," Ralpharite speculated as he took the notebook in both his paws, "A covert organization such as this one needs to be very descriptive in order to avoid confusion. That being said, they cannot leave any room for error."

Victor shrugged casually and said "I guess not."

Ralpharite held onto the notebook tightly. Something quickly caught his attention; there appeared to be an extensive yet relatively flat lump in the notebook's back cover.

Ralpharite ran his paw along the back cover and he did indeed feel a discrepancy in the book's surface.

He opened up the book on the last page and attempted to loosen its cover.

Victor watched Ralpharite and asked him "What's the matter?"

"There's something under the cover," Ralpharite responded, still trying to loosen the cover of the notebook.

Eventually, he managed to loosen the cover enough so that he could reach underneath it and pull out what was causing the lump.

It was a sealed envelope. There was no address or return address on it; it was blank. But it was obviously stuffed with something.

Victor used his hook to cut open the top of the envelope. Then he removed two different items from it. The first item was a piece of paper with a plastic seal which contained two large laminated slips of white paper. The other item was another piece of paper that was carefully folded up in several ways.

Victor handed the sealed paper with the slips to Ralpharite. While Ralpharite examined the slips, Victor went to unfolding the folded piece of paper. When he was finished, he saw what it was.

"It's a set of directions," he announced to the others.

"To where?" asked Dawlimer.

"I'm not sure," Victor responded, "But it seems to lead to a certain place in London."

Ralpharite discovered a message written on the back of the plastic-sealed piece of paper. He read it aloud: "'You may need these to get into the city. The Pollicle dogs are picking up any stray cats that do not have one of these slips in their possession.'"

Victor raised an eyebrow in confusion and stated "What's that all about? There're no Pollicles in Hampton. Isn't that right, Roshedam?"

"That's correct, Victor," answered the yellow and brown tom, "As far as I know, the Pollicles have never come within five miles of this city. As we all know, London is their home, and London is at least eleven miles away from here."

"So, why would they send us something to help us avoid being captured by Pollicles?" queried Victor to no one in particular, "It seems rather unnecessary."

Ralpharite realized at that moment that he and Roshedam had yet to tell the rest of their group that Thogren had asked them to travel to London in two days.

The two toms looked at each other in slight nervousness across the room before Ralpharite said "The Resistance must have sent us these slips because they expect Roshedam and me to go to London."

At that moment, everyone in the room (besides Roshedam) stopped whatever they were doing and turned to look at Ralpharite. Scurtena had just finished her Vitality Drink, but she almost spat out the last of it.

Victor glared at Ralpharite in uncertainty, as if he had misheard him. "Ralph, what did you just say?"

Ralpharite sighed and stated "The person we met with tonight – a tom in the Feline Navy by the name of 'Commander Thogren' – ended the meeting by giving us this notebook. He also told us that we must travel to London in exactly two days to meet with one of the founders of the Resistance. That's apparently a mandatory step for anyone who wishes to join the organization."

"Did they say **why **this is required of you, Ralph?" said Victor, "The Siamese influence up there is stronger than ever. Both of you would seriously be jeopardizing your safety by going back to London right now. You especially, Ralph. Macavity's henchcats may or may not know what you look like, but the risk that they actually do is not worth endangering you."

"I'm flattered that you are so concerned for my safety, Victor, but this must be done," Ralpharite stated flatly, "For all we know, this founder – whoever he or she is – has already been told to expect a yellow and brown striped tom and a red and white tabby. That seems to be how Commander Thogren sorted us out in the Bell at Hampton pub. As you know full well, Roshedam and I are the only members of this group that match those respective physical descriptions."

"He does have a point," commented Roshedam, "Besides, isn't the main point of our operations here to find and rescue Grumbuskin from Macavity? If we are ever to accomplish this goal, we will have to go to London at some point."

There was a short pause. Then Victor sighed and leaned back in his chair. He rubbed his hook with his right front paw and stated "That is true."

While Victor sat stroking his hook and thinking, Roshedam turned to Scurtena and asked her "Will you be alright with the prospect of me being away from here for a while?"

She turned to him and asked "Just how long is 'a while?'"

Ralpharite took the directions from Victor and found several notes jotted on the back of the paper. One of them contained the info he was looking for. He told Scurtena "It would appear that we have to be there for at least one full day. It could be longer, depending on a variety of factors."

Scurtena shrugged and looked down at Kingsley. She asked him sweetly "Is it alright with you if Daddy is gone for a day or longer, sweetie?"

Kingsley sat thinking. He was very young and very innocent. But he was old and mature enough to know about his family's business.

He looked up at his mother and nodded.

Roshedam smiled down at his son and kissed him on the forehead. Then he looked over at Victor and told him "I guess it's up to you now, Victor."

"What do you mean?" asked the brown and cream tabby.

"You're the only one who has the authority to prevent Rosh and I from going to London," Ralpharite clarified, "All you have to do is say 'no' and we will stay here. You have our word that we won't protest."

Victor knew that Ralpharite was correct. Grumbuskin had charged him with taking command of the Hampton group. The only two people in the whole of the world that he would always take orders from were Growltiger and Grumbuskin. At this point, one of them had been in a very long coma and the other was a prisoner of Macavity.

The brown and cream tabby took his responsibility as the group's leader very seriously, but sometimes he was faced with difficult decisions that he wished someone else would make for him, even though he knew full well that only he could make them. This was one of those times.

Victor sat meditating. He rubbed his hook again with his paw. He had had this hook in place of his left front paw for almost six months, and yet he was still not entirely used to it. His primary concern was that Ralpharite or Roshedam could suffer far worse than an amputated paw if they were captured by the Siamese or Macavity.

However, he had no reason to doubt either tom's competence. Roshedam had been a very successful businessman (or businesstom) before he became involved with the crew and Ralpharite was the most intelligent and resourceful person Victor knew. Both of them were more than capable of looking out for themselves, so naturally, they would be able to look out for each other as well.

Victor lifted his head up and looked over at Roshedam. Then he turned in the other direction to look at Ralpharite. After some more silence, he said "You have my full authorization to travel to London."

Ralpharite smirked, reached over, and patted Victor on the back, telling him "I'm glad you understand."

Victor nodded slightly and leaned back in his chair again. He stated "I believe we should discuss this with the rest of the crew first."

"An excellent idea," Ralpharite commented. He turned to Dawlimer and gave him these orders: "Go downstairs and have everyone else come up here. We're going to have a brief meeting."

Dawlimer obediently jumped off the counter, walked down the hall, and made his way to the stairwell.

Roshedam whispered into Scurtena's ear "I think it's time we get Kingsley to bed. He doesn't need to hear this."

She nodded and looked down at their son. She told him "Time for bed, Kings."

"Already?" said the kitten, "I'm not even sleepy."

Scurtena nuzzled her son lovingly, telling him in a very sweet tone "Yes, you are."

"No, I'm…" Kingsley paused to let out a soft yawn. Truthfully, he was very tired. His mother had only let him stay up so late so that he could greet Roshedam when he got back from the meeting. He rubbed his eyes and said "Alright."

Roshedam and Scurtena went with Kingsley to the bedroom the three of them shared. Because the apartment was short on bedrooms, almost everybody shared a room.

After tucking in their son, the two mates returned to the living room. Griddlebone had decided to join them as well.

About two minutes later, Dawlimer returned with the other eight members of the crew.

After everybody got settled in the living room, Ralpharite started the meeting. He opened by addressing the nine that had just arrived in the room (Griddlebone and the eight crewmembers) with "It would appear as though the rumors were true; the Siamese Resistance is real. And our request to join it is currently being submitted."

"Well, that's good news," remarked Shamlit.

"When will it be confirmed?" queried Tarwick.

"That's what this meeting is about," answered Ralpharite, "Roshedam and I must travel to London to meet up with the founders of this Resistance. Only then will our request be granted."

No one spoke for a few moments. The other eight crewmembers were notably stunned. No one in their group (except, of course, Griddlebone) had been to London ever since they had gone into hiding.

After everyone was able to accept the idea of going back to London, the meeting resumed. Ralpharite and Victor first discussed most of the information that was in the notebook. After talking about all the material regarding the Resistance itself, they covered the information that discussed how the city had changed while they were away from it.

"It would appear as though most of the strays in the city and neighboring precincts have been disappearing under 'mysterious circumstances,'" stated Ralpharite, "The Resistance has confirmed that these 'disappearances' are in fact abductions. There is no detailed explanation, except that the Pollicles are the main reason for this phenomenon."

"How exactly do they define a stray down there?" asked Geilen.

Ralpharite looked through the notebook until he found what he was looking for. He announced "A stray is apparently defined in London as any cat who meets all of these criteria: 1. Does not own land or private property of their own, 2. Does not have a human owner or a collar to validate their ownership, and 3. Does not work for… Macavity or the Siamese fleet."

"I knew it!" stated Arthur, "The Siamese must have something to do with this!"

"That's what the Resistance believes," said Victor, "But they've never been able to find any authentic proof to back that theory up."

"What about Macavity?" Yves pointed out, "Why would his henchcats be protected from these abductions?"

"Maybe the Pollicles are too intimidated to mess with the Hidden Paw," suggested Hosangis.

"Or it could be because the Siamese and Macavity are in cahoots with each other," offered Menchul.

"Regardless of that, there must be a reason," commented Elamof.

"We can ask about that while we're in London," Roshedam assured them all.

"But both you and Ralph meet the criteria he just stated," Griddlebone pointed out, "You'll be picked up for sure if you're found in London."

"I don't meet the first criterion," Roshedam corrected her, "I am a property owner. I mean, this is MY apartment after all."

"Yes, but are you its registered owner?" said Griddlebone.

Roshedam paused to think about this. Then he responded "No, I'm… I'm not."

"I rest my case," Griddlebone stated, "It would appear as though I'm the only one in this entire group that manages to meet one of those criteria."

"That may be, but there is still a way for us to get into London safely," said Ralpharite.

"What might that be?" asked Griddlebone.

Ralpharite held up the sealed paper with the two laminated slips and replied "We found these in the notebook's cover. They're properly referred to as 'licenses.' Possession of these grants a stray cat entrance into the city without the threat of abduction."

"Unfortunately, as it says on the back of the paper, the licenses are only good for one cat apiece," remarked Roshedam, "So only Ralph and I will be able to go."

"However, the notebook tells us of several places where we can purchase more of the licenses," Victor announced, as he looked through the middle section of the notebook. He looked at Ralpharite and told him "If you and Rosh can get your paws on more of these things, it might be possible for more of us to get into London."

"We'll make that our top priority once we've met with the founder," Ralpharite assured him.

"Does it actually say anything about who this 'founder' is?" asked Najalim.

"That's one thing I would really like to know," Quaftil stated.

"The folded paper we found in the envelope contains explicit directions on how to find the founder," Victor replied, "However, there is a statement at the top which seems to be directed at whoever this notebook was given to. In this case, that would be Ralpharite and Roshedam."

Ralpharite gazed at the top sentence on the now-unfolded paper and read it aloud "'To whoever this was given: The following directions are for your eyes only. You must not discuss them with anyone else, even someone you trust with your life. To protect the founders of our clandestine Resistance, it is imperative that as few people as possible know where they can be found. This is simply a precautionary measure in the scenario that you are captured or interrogated for information by the Siamese. Your membership is a complete secret from the Siamese, but we can take no chances in times like this.'"

Ralpharite looked up at Victor and asked (said more than asked) "Well, what do you think about that?"

Victor did not respond immediately. He sat thinking for about a minute until he said "I believe… that if these people are going to be our allies, we should give them our cooperation. That being said, we must respect their wishes."

After another brief pause, he said "Ralpharite, Roshedam, you are the only ones permitted to read these directions. Everyone else here – including myself – is denied the right to read them."

Everyone agreed with this arrangement.

…

Back in London the following night, the stray kitten Heurion was wandering through the city streets by himself.

He had managed to fend for himself for the past few days by hunting street rodents and sleeping in dark alley corners. But he would not feel safe until he found his aunt's house.

His parents once had him memorize the route to his aunt's place of residence. Unfortunately, at this time, he was under too much emotional stress and pain from losing almost his entire family to remember it.

He loved walking in the city during the daytime. But not at night. And certainly not by himself.

When he walked through those streets by himself in the dark, his imagination played terrible tricks on him. Every which way he looked, he thought he saw something threatening. Even after he confirmed that what he saw was only an inanimate object, he was jittery.

"Come on, you have to remember the way," he whispered to himself as he nervously surveyed the empty street in front of him with his eyes, "It can't be too far from here."

After walking for a little while, he heard a menacing growl.

He froze in his steps, not daring to move a muscle.

A few seconds later, he heard a voice say "Well, look what we have here…"

Heurion slowly turned around. Two large Pollicle dogs were standing in front of him.

"Well, looks like we got us the first catch of the night," remarked one of them, "I don't see a collar on this one."

"Good, very good," said the other one, snickering.

The two of them started to approach Heurion, who was struggling not to pass out from shock.

"Don't try to run," one of them warned him, "Just come along quietly and you will not be harmed."

Just before they could grab him, a flash of bright red came out of nowhere and ran directly in front of the dogs.

The two Pollicles were distracted by this sudden burst of activity and tried to look around for the source of it.

Heurion saw this as an opportunity to escape. He started running down the street. The Pollicles quickly noticed and ran after him.

Heurion tried to outrun the Pollicles, but the dogs were much faster.

Before he could travel ten meters, one of them grabbed him by his tail and pulled him back. Heurion tripped and fell onto his chest.

The two Pollicles reached him. One of them growled "We told you not to run, kid."

"Now, you'll find out what happens when people ignore our warnings," snarled the other.

Heurion braced himself for a physical attack, but then the same red flash came back. It rammed into the side of one of the dogs, knocking him hard onto his back.

His partner looked up and saw a cream and black tom with flashing red eyes standing in front of him.

Before he could react, the cat attacked him next, punching him upside the jaw.

That Pollicle collapsed and moaned in pain.

The mysterious cat stood defensively between the two dogs and Heurion. He was determined to protect the young kitten from the Pollicles.

The mysterious cat looked a little familiar to both of the dogs. Before long, they knew who he was.

"You were at… the… the battle with the Pekes," whispered one of them in shock.

"It's the Rumpus Cat!" shouted the other, alarmed.

"That's 'the Great Rumpus Cat,' to you!" the mysterious cat declared in a booming voice.

The two Pollicles quickly got to their feet and took off running in the opposite direction.

**Review, please!**


	10. Shocking Discoveries

**To Cassieteazer: I apologize if a couple of the last chapters seemed confusing. You see, my plan in writing this fanfic is for it to continue some of the plot lines I established in two of my other fanfics: "The Boatswain" and "Choices." I'm taking steps to ensure that I cover all the important points from those two fanfics so that it makes sense for the readers who have read neither of them. By the way, thank you for your review.**

Heurion just stared in awe. He had been saved from two Pollicles dogs by a mysterious cat with red flashing eyes. A cat who was only known as "The Rumpus Cat."

The cat turned to him and held out his front paw. Heurion took it and allowed the Rumpus Cat to help him up off the ground.

"Th-th-thank you, s-sir," he said nervously.

"Are you alright?" queried his rescuer, "Are you injured?"

"No, I don't think so," answered Heurion.

"Why are you out here by yourself?" asked the Rumpus Cat.

"I'm trying to get to my Aunt's house," replied the young kitten, "But I… I got lost."

"Where's the rest of your family?"

Heurion did not answer this next question immediately. He almost seemed saddened by it. But he looked up into its rescuer's flashing red eyes and told him "They were taken."

"Taken?" said the Rumpus Cat, "By who?"

"Other Pollicles," said the kitten, "I was there when it happened. I barely got away."

The Rumpus Cat stood in silence, thinking for a bit. Then he looked back down at Heurion and asked him "Did the leader of the pack examine all the members of your family before taking them away?"

"Yes, yes, he did," nodded the kitten, "I thought for sure they were going to kill them, but they did not. They barely even damaged them."

The Rumpus Cat stood thinking again and asked Heurion "Are you a stray?"

"Yes, I am."

"Were the members of your family strays?"

"Yes."

"Then I should let you know; this scenario is not unheard of," said the Rumpus Cat, "The Pollicles have been picking up strays all over the city."

"They have?" Heurion asked, surprised to hear this.

"Yes," answered the Rumpus Cat, nodding his head, "That being said, it would be wise to get you off the street as soon as possible. As long as you're out in the open, you've prone to danger."

"Alright," agreed the kitten, "But the only safe place I can think of is my Aunt's house. Unfortunately, I can't remember the route."

There was a brief pause. Then the Rumpus Cat offered "I can take you there if you can give me an idea of what area of the city it is located in."

"W-would you, sir?" said the kitten, grinning.

"Certainly," stated the mysterious cat, "I would never leave someone in need if there was something I could do to help."

Heurion kept grinning and stood thinking about a possible landmark or notable feature that could distinguish his Aunt's house from another part of the city.

Then it struck him straight on. He told the Rumpus Cat "Her house is along the north side of the Thames River."

"Which district?" asked the Rumpus Cat.

"Ratcliff, I believe," answered the young kitten, "Yes, it's definitely in Ratcliff. I think I'll know which house is hers when I see it; its bricks are not all the same color. They form a distinctive pattern."

"Alright," said the Rumpus Cat, "Follow me close behind. I'll lead you there."

For the next ten minutes, the Rumpus Cat and Heurion ran from that spot in the center of the city all the way to Ratcliff. The Rumpus Cat was very fast, but he made sure to stay close to Heurion at all times.

Once they arrived along the river, Heurion kept his eyes open. He searched all over for a house whose bricks formed a specific pattern in terms of their colors.

Finally, they came to a house that matched that pattern. Heurion pointed it out to the Rumpus Cat and they stopped running.

The two of them entered the area and approached the building. The front door had a built-in pet door on it. Just before the two of them reached the front door, another cat jumped out through the front door.

This cat was a peach striped queen. She was not quite near middle-aged, but she was not quite a young adult either. She wore a collar around her neck.

When she jumped out through the pet door, she had only done so to get a breath of fresh air. Her human owners had just eaten dinner. Their meal carried an unpleasant odor which lingered around the house for a while. The queen wanted to get outside simply to get away from the stench.

For the first few seconds, she looked to the side of the garden. Then she turned to the front of the house.

What she saw surprised her.

Her brother's son was standing just a few feet in front of her. He was accompanied by a cat with flashing red eyes dressed in black and cream spandex.

"Heurion?" she asked, "What are you doing here?"

"It's a long and complicated story, Aunt Geraldine," responded her nephew, "I'll tell you about it."

Geraldine looked up at the other cat and asked him "Who are you? What do you want? Why are you here?"

Heurion stepped forward and told his Aunt "We can trust him, Auntie. He just saved me from the Pollicles."

"The Pollicles?" said his Aunt, obviously shocked.

"That's part of the story," said Heurion, "But I don't feel safe talking about it out here. Can we go inside first?"

"I wouldn't recommend going in the house; my humans had a questionable dinner," stated Geraldine, "However, we can still use my private den in the backyard."

"Alright," her young nephew agreed.

Admetus turned back to the gates and was about to leave when Geraldine placed her paw on his shoulder.

"Excuse me, sir, I have a question," she stated.

Admetus turned back to her and waited for the question to come.

Finally, she asked him "Are you… are you… the Great Rumpus Cat?"

Admetus firmly nodded his head.

Geraldine appeared to be staring at him in awe, as if she was amazed or stunned to come face to face with him.

"I've read of you in the papers," she told him, "They say you're a public hero and that you moonlight as a crime fighter. Is this true?"

Admetus nodded again. This time, he actually spoke. He spoke in a voice a little deeper than usual "I am currently investigating the disappearances your nephew witnessed, as well as the many similar to them. The Pollicles are up to something, and I plan to find out what."

There were a few seconds of silence before Geraldine told him "I have some information that may help you. Come with me and my nephew to the backyard."

Admetus hesitated momentarily; he did not like to stay in any place too long as the Rumpus Cat. But if somebody had information that could help him determine **why **the Pollicles were behaving so strangely, he was willing to linger.

"Very well," he responded.

The three cats walked to the backyard of the house. The backyard directly faced the Thames. There was a gate at the back that connected to a walkway a few feet below. The walkway ran alongside the river for a great distance in either direction.

There was a large shed in the backyard. This shed was never used by Geraldine's owners, so she transformed it into her own private den.

She and the two others stepped inside. It was organized in three separate spaces. The first space was a sitting area where cats could lounge in a chair appropriate for their size. The second space was a supplies area that contained some emergency stored food and some filing cabinets. The third space was a resting area with a bed and a lamp.

The two toms sat down in chairs and waited for Geraldine to get settled. Once she was, she said "Tell me everything that happened."

Heurion started out by recounting his traumatic experience from a few nights earlier, when he had witnessed his family's abduction. He managed to remember almost every detail about it.

Once he was finished, Admetus told Geraldine what he already knew regarding the Pollicles' activities. He did not have much to go on. All he knew was that every stray cat in London was a potential target of the Pollicles. With the notable exception of any stray in the Siamese fleet.

"My people and I believe that the Siamese may have something to do with it," Admetus said to Geraldine.

"You are correct," she told him, "The Siamese are involved. I have the proof right with me."

Behind his flashing goggles, Admetus raised an eyebrow in interest. "You do?"

She nodded and went over into the second area in the shed. She opened up one of the filing cabinets and took out one particular file.

Admetus briefly looked it over by getting a glimpse of all the pages. When he was finished, he looked up at Geraldine and asked her "How did you come across these?"

Before replying, Geraldine instinctively looked over her shoulder, as if she was afraid that someone could be watching or listening in on the conversation. Then she turned back to Admetus and answered "I'm a member of an organization known as The Siamese Resistance. We're an underground group whose main purpose is to end the Siamese domain on the Thames. We acquired this information by doing some spying and extensive background research."

Admetus raised his eyebrow again. "I was not aware of this Resistance's presence in this city."

"Good," commented Geraldine, "It's important that as few people as possible outside our group knows of our existence. However, if you are determined to stop these abductions and operate as a possible contact, I can provide you with as much information as you require."

Admetus sat, thinking about this offer. Truthfully, he found it to be quite reasonable and generous. He knew full well that if he intended to stop the abductions, he would need to gather as much intelligence as possible about them.

He looked Geraldine in the eye and told her "I accept. Tell me what you can."

The older cat nodded and looked down at the file. She told him "The Siamese do indeed have something to do with the strays' disappearances. But they are not working with the Pollicles directly."

"They're not?" said Admetus, a little perplexed.

"No, it is much more complex than that," stated Geraldine, "As you already know the Pollicles are the ones rounding up the strays. But all the strays are being taken to one single location in this city. From there, their fates are decided. Only a small percentage of them actually end up in the 'care' of the Siamese fleet."

"Then where are the strays being gathered?" queried Admetus, "Who is responsible for the Pollicles' behavior?"

There was uncomfortable silence in that room for almost an entire minute.

When Geraldine finally answered Admetus' question, he was shocked. More shocked than he thought possible. But her answer seemed to clarify quite a few things.

For about twenty minutes, Geraldine provided Admetus with numerous bits of information regarding the Siamese fleet and its activities.

When those twenty minutes were over, Admetus looked at a clock on the wall of the room and politely Geraldine "I must be going now. I have more work to attend to."

She agreed to his statement. She told him "If you want more information, you may come back here tomorrow night. I'll be waiting here for you."

Admetus nodded his head and told Geraldine and Heurion "Thank you for your time. I'll do my best to make sure that the Pollicles keep away from this region. But stay safe and try to avoid them at all cost."

"Wise advice," remarked Geraldine.

Heurion nodded and told Admetus "Thanks for helping me. I would have been carried away had it not been for your intervention."

Admetus smiled down at the kitten and said "It's my pleasure."

Then he left the room, made his way to the house's front gates, and ran back into the city.

…

A few hours later, back at the Jellicle Junkyard, Tumblebrutus was sitting on top of one of the tallest piles in the junkyard. It was the pile with the rocking chair on top. He loved the view of the city from that height. He could almost see the River Thames from there.

Ever since he had been dismissed from Growltiger's crew, Tumblebrutus liked to spend time on top of that pile, gazing at the river.

"Hey, Tumble, what's up!" a voice interrupted his meditation.

Tumblebrutus looked down and saw his brother Pouncival hanging on the side of the pile, looking up at him.

"I'm just thinking about stuff, Pounce," Tumble replied.

"Like what?" asked the grey, white, and brown tom as he hoisted himself onto the chair to sit next to his brother.

"Oh, just… things of the past," was Tumblebrutus' vague response.

Pouncival gestured for more detail, saying "Such as?"

Tumblebrutus merely pointed out the River Thames in the distance. Pouncival spotted it and got his brother's message.

"It's been almost six months," Pouncival pointed out, "Are you still in love with the river?"

"No, Jemima's my only love," responded Tumblebrutus, "But I do miss the river dearly. I feel that my connection with it is still as strong as it was when I first stepped on board that ship."

"I only wish I could have known what it was like," stated Pounce, "Serving under Growltiger must have an incredible honor!"

"Believe me, it was," Tumble assured him, "I actually think you would have done well on the crew. But I guess we may never know now."

Pouncival shrugged, saying "Perhaps. But at least we still have _Growltiger's Last Stand _to keep Growltiger's memory and story alive."

"I can't argue with that," commented Tumble, "But all the same, I wonder if I'll ever be reunited with the other surviving members of my former crew."

"I'm certain you will be reunited with them someday," remarked Pounce, "But for the present, maybe you should focus a bit more on current events."

Tumblebrutus snickered and said slyly "I'll try."

Pouncival patted his brother on the back and said "Good. Glad to know you're up to-"

He never finished that sentence. Something caught his eye. At that very moment, he could see a pair of flashing red eyes approaching the junkyard.

Tumblebrutus turned to his brother and asked him "Pounce? Were you going to say something?"

Pouncival pointed down into the street and told his brother "Tumble… look."

Tumblebrutus turned in the direction he was pointing at. He saw the flashing red eyes, too.

"What the hell is that thing?" muttered Pounce.

"I have no idea," stated Tumble, "Let's see where it goes."

The two of them remained on the top of the junk pile and focused their attention on the eyes. They obviously belonged to a cat. For some strange reason, this cat looked a little familiar to them.

Finally, the cat stopped outside the fence which surrounded the Jellicle Junkyard. Its eyes suddenly stopped flashing and it crawled underneath a secret passage to get inside the vicinity.

"We should get Munkustrap," Tumblebrutus decided. He was about to start climbing of the junk pile when his brother stopped him by taking ahold of his shoulder.

"No, I have a better idea," Pouncival remarked, "How about we investigate this on our own?"

"What?" Tumblebrutus uttered, "We don't even know what that thing is! It could be dangerous."

"More dangerous than engaging the Siamese fleet in battle?" Pouncival asked rhetorically, subtly referring to one of Tumblebrutus' campaigns on Growltiger's ship.

Tumblebrutus sat thinking about that for a moment, and then he reluctantly agreed to Pouncival's idea. "Alright, but for the sake of the Everlasting Cat, let's be careful."

The two toms climbed down the junk pile and made their way to the front of the junkyard. When they found the part of the fence where the strange creature had entered the vicinity, they followed its trail further into an uninhabited part of the junkyard.

You have probably reasoned out on your own that the creature Pouncival and Tumblebrutus saw was actually Admetus as the Rumpus Cat. In that case, you are correct.

Admetus had assumed that almost everybody in the tribe was asleep at the time. That was why he came home at that specific time of the night.

He arrived at the spot where he usually hid his costume. There, he began to remove it. At that exact same time, Pouncival and Tumblebrutus entered the vicinity. They had an idea to approach him, but decided to just hide behind a tall pile of junk and watched from atop.

Admetus started undressing by taking off his blade-wielding gloves. Then he removed his wig and placed these objects in a large clean plastic bag.

While they watched from above, Tumblebrutus whispered in shock "Does that person look familiar to you?"

Pouncival slowly nodded and replied "That has to be the Rumpus Cat. But what's he doing?"

"It looks like he's undressing," Tumble observed.

"Okay," stated Pounce, "Let's just watch him."

Admetus next removed the battery pack that lighted up the bulbs in his goggles and then removed his goggles as well. He placed them in the bag with his other gear. At that moment, he had his back to Pouncival and Tumblebrutus, so neither of them could see his face.

The next thing he removed was his collar. That was not the collar he typically wore; it was just a part of the costume.

Finally, he got out of his cat suit and placed it in the bag with everything else.

Once that was accomplished, he sealed the bag and buried it under a pile of junk. Then he turned around and casually walked out of the area.

When Pouncival and Tumblebrutus saw his face, their eyes almost popped out of their heads.

The two of them lowered themselves down to the ground and looked at each other in shock.

"How could this be possible?" whispered Tumblebrutus, "The Rumpus Cat is… Admetus?"

Pouncival was silent for a little while. Then he asked his brother "Should we tell anyone about this?"

Tumblebrutus vigorously shook his head and firmly replied "No, absolutely not. I think maybe we should keep this between ourselves. But first thing come morning, we can have a little 'discussion' with Admetus."

Pouncival agreed. He muttered "I imagine he'll be as surprised as we ourselves currently are."

…

Out in the city, at that very moment, the Pollicle dogs were once again conducting their new business. They had been rather successful that night, having captured more than twenty strays in one area.

The leader of the group – the Border collie – led them through the streets. Before long, they arrived at a certain building. This building was the place where the Pollicles always dropped the strays they captured off.

The building itself was a warehouse which the humans in the city had assumed to be abandoned. Truthfully, it was anything but.

The dogs made their way to the back of the building and came to a garage door. The leader approached it and rapped on the door several times.

A slot in the garage door was opened and a tan-striped queen looked through it. When she saw who was there, she smirked and remarked "Glad you made it."

She had a white and grey tom across the room open the garage via a computer panel. He opened it just enough so the Pollicles could enter.

Once they were all inside, the tan-striped queen told the dogs to remain there while she got her Boss.

She left the room but returned less than two minutes later with a tall red and gold tom.

The tom stood on his hind legs and approached the Pollicles and the strays.

He looked around to study the strays visually and scoffed.

"I'd say you and your colleagues did quite well tonight, Krueger," remarked the gold and red tom, addressing the Border collie.

The Border collie smirked and stated "I'm pleased to know you're satisfied with tonight's yield, Macavity."

**Note: Yep! Macavity's involved in this now! I just wanted to let you know; the next chapter will be pretty dark. So brace yourself!**

**Review, please!**


	11. The Extremist

A dozen of Macavity's henchcats entered the room and took positions behind their boss. They stood in silence, waiting for their Boss's orders.

The tan-striped queen stood to Macavity's right.

"Your payment is in the main storage unit," Macavity spoke to Krueger. He then nodded his head at the tan-striped queen while saying "Vielal will escort you there."

"Very well," agreed the Border collie. He turned to Vielal and stated "I'll follow you."

The tan-striped queen led the Border collie out of the room through the door that connected to the main hallway.

Everyone else waited in utter silence.

Once they returned, Krueger had a smug grin across his face. He remarked "It would appear that everything is in order."

Macavity nodded and said to the white and grey tom at the computer console "Tyraf, shut the garage door."

"Yes, sir," stated the tom. Tyraf used the console to close the garage door.

Once it was shut, Krueger's pack members released the strays. But none of the strays dared to make any sudden movements.

Krueger and his pack went to collect their payment in the main storage unit. Once all the Pollicles were out of the room, the dozen henchcats behind Macavity created a perimeter around the large group of strays.

One of them took a headcount of all the strays and announced to his Boss "Sir, there are twenty-eight of them total."

"Alright," Macavity nodded. He faced the group of strays and shouted "I want you all to get into four rows of seven. Anyone who fails to get into a row within the next fifteen seconds will be 'persuaded' to follow orders faster. Is that understood?"

The strays agreed and – moving as fast as possible – got into four rows of seven. They stood at least two feet apart in all directions.

"Well, at least I know you can all follow simple directions," Macavity remarked, scoffing lightly.

He stood on his hind legs and held his front paws behind his back. He looked around at the twenty-eight strays standing before him. He could tell that each and every one of them was frightened. He savored their fear; it brought him contentment.

Standing directly in front of the strays, he announced "As of this point right now, your past lives are over. This is the only life that still exists for you. I want that to sink in so that I don't have to repeat myself. Is that understood?"

All of the strays nodded timidly. There was uncomfortable silence for a few moments. Then the cat standing third to the left in the front row asked "What do you want with us?"

Macavity shot a dark glare at this cat and approached her slowly. When he was directly in front of her, he raised his paw and struck her across the face.

The cat dropped to the ground, holding her cheek. She started bleeding on the corner of her mouth and she coughed violently, trying to catch her breath. Macavity had just knocked the wind out of her.

"Did I give you permission to speak?" shouted Macavity, "Did I? I want an answer!"

The queen slowly looked up and shook her head.

"On your feet," Macavity snarled.

The queen quickly got up and got back in line. Blood was still dripping from the corner of her mouth.

Macavity addressed the entire group of strays once again: "From now on, you will only speak when you are told to speak! I want to make that elegantly clear!"

The strays all nodded their understanding again.

"Good," said Macavity drily. He took a few steps back so he could get a good look at the entire group of the strays. He announced "I will assign each of you to a different room. When I give you the name of your room, you will stand by a certain henchcat. When I am finished, the henchcat will escort you there."

Macavity let this sink in for a moment. Then he approached the cat standing farthest left in the first row. This cat was a tall young adult tom. He appeared to be in excellent physical condition and pristine health.

Macacvity seemed to give an approving nod, as if he was satisfied with what he was seeing. He pointed out one of the henchcats standing to the right of the group and told the first stray "Room E."

The first stray nodded and went to stand by the henchcat Macavity had pointed out.

The second stray was a queen. She appeared to be a young adult, and while she did not appear to be exceptionally strong, she was certainly attractive.

Macavity pointed to another henchcat on the other side of the room and said "Room C."

As the second stray went to stand by that henchcat, Macavity came to the third one. She was still bleeding from the vicious blow Macavity had thrown at her. But she was determined to keep her dignity.

Macavity stood in front of her, rubbing his chin. He was not quite sure where to send her.

"What do you think, Tyraf?" the Hidden Paw asked the white and grey tom at the computer console, "Room D? Or Room F?"

"Room F, sir, definitely," responded Tyraf.

"I agree with him, sir," stated Vielal.

Macavity nodded and pointed at a henchcat in the back of the room. He told the queen "Room F."

She obeyed his orders.

This went on until Macavity came to the last stray. The last stray was an elderly tom who had great difficulty standing on his two hind legs, but still barely managed to do it without collapsing.

Normally, Macavity would send someone like this to Room A, but he got a better idea.

He shook his head in disappointment and told the elderly tom "You may leave."

The elderly tom looked as if he had misheard the Napoleon of Crime. Slowly, he asked "A-a-a-Are you… serious?"

"Indeed, I am," remarked Macavity. He gestured for two of his henchcats to approach him. He ordered them "Escort this gentletom back into the **city**."

He put a notable emphasis on the last word, which both of the henchcats noted. He was sending them a subliminal message by speaking that way.

The two henchcats saluted their Boss and each took the elderly tom by one of his front legs.

"Pardon us, sir, let's help you outside," one of the henchcats stated with an unusually polite tone.

"There is no need for that," the elderly tom assured them, "I can walk on my own."

"Nonsense, let us help you!" the other henchcat insisted.

The elderly tom shrugged and said "Very well."

Tyraf opened up the garage door enough for the henchcats and the elderly tom to get outside. Once they were through, he shut it again.

Macavity turned back to face the crowd in the room and ordered his henchcats "Take our guests to their new rooms."

The strays were all led away to one of nine different rooms.

Before long, the room was empty, except for Macavity, his bodyguard, Vielal, and Tyraf.

Macavity was about to leave the room with his bodyguard. Just before stepping through the door, he looked over his shoulder and told Vielal "I'm expecting Mouveilyr's new ambassador to arrive within the next hour. I want you to wait for him to arrive. When he does arrive, bring him to my office."

"I will, sir," she agreed.

Macavity and his bodyguard promptly left the room.

Outside, the elderly tom was still being escorted around the city by the same two henchcats. They were still holding him by the sides.

"You have our sincerest apologies for this inconvenience," one of them told him.

"Yes, it was not our business to have you brought there against your will," stated the other one.

"Oh, that's… that's quite alright," remarked the elderly tom, "We all make… bad… decisions."

It did not take long for the two henchcats to conclude that the elderly tom was not only feeble and weak, but practically senile, as well.

"Did you have family in there?" asked one of them.

"Yes… yes, I did," answered the elderly tom, "I had a… daughter. She has… a mate… of her own."

"That's lovely," commented the other henchcat.

While they made a conversation with the elderly tom, they were approaching the Thames River at a quick pace.

"Have you ever seen the Thames?" asked the first henchcat.

"It's a gorgeous sight at night," claimed the second one.

"I'm sure it is," said the elderly tom, "Gentlemen, might I ask where exactly we are going?"

The two of them did not answer him. Before long, they arrived at the Thames River.

"Just look at those waters glisten!" exclaimed the first henchcat.

"A magnificent sight if I ever saw one!" shouted the other one.

"I… I… agree," stated the elderly tom.

Then, without warning, the two henchcats pushed the elderly tom forward. He fell directly into the frigid waters. He had never learned how to swim in his life, and being very old and slow-moving did not help him in the slightest.

The two henchcats chuckled as they watched him struggle.

"Isn't it odd?" remarked one of them slyly, "I've heard of an expression that claims people get wiser as they get older."

"I'm guessing that that expression was said by a VERY old person," commented the other one wittily.

The elderly tom soon died of drowning. Once his body was floating lifelessly on the Thames, the two henchcats turned around and made their way back to their hideout.

…

It would probably help you to learn a little more of Macavity's history.

Before his alliance with the Siamese, Macavity was one of the most feared criminals in the entire city of London. He was actually in competition with human criminals to make the list of "Scotland Yard's Most Wanted."

After Macavity and Genghis – the commander of the Siamese fleet – became allies, his domain extended beyond London. The Siamese fleet spread Macavity's name wherever they travelled on the river.

After the death of Genghis, Macavity became even more powerful when he assumed control of the Siamese army. Because their commander died on Macavity's grounds, the Siamese were compelled to follow the Hidden Paw as their new leader.

Genghis' second-in-command – a black tom named Mouveilyr – operated as the fleet commander, but all the real authority came from Macavity.

Ever since taking command of the Siamese fleet, Macavity's resources had expanded vastly. His henchcats had multiplied in number. The fear he had created beforehand doubled universally. In other words, he had become the most powerful cat in England.

A month after taking command of the Siamese fleet, he had made a decision to "cleanse" London. He intended to accomplish this by ridding it of all the stray cats. He wanted to remove this "filth" from London once and for all.

One would wonder what could possible motivate him to do something so barbaric. His logic was actually quite simple: he viewed stray cats as cowering, low-life rejects of society. He viewed them as the scum of city life. He viewed them as a disgrace to cats everywhere. He figured that by removing all the strays from London, only the cats with respectable homes, praiseworthy backgrounds, and commendable upbringings would be left.

That was why he wanted to remove the strays; so that cats in London would gain a better reputation. So that no cats outside the city (or anyone else) would associate London cats with filth or garbage, or anything found in the wastebasket of society. That was his entire plan.

He was very committed to this plan.

…

Macavity sat working in his office for nearly an hour in silence. At the end of that hour, someone knocked on his office door.

He looked up from his work and called out "Enter!"

Vielal opened the door and stepped inside. She told her Boss "Sir, Mouveilyr's new ambassador has just arrived."

Macavity nodded and said "Send him in."

Vielal stepped out of the doorframe and held the door open. A grey and black Siamese tom entered the room. This tom was particularly tall, especially when he stood on his hind legs. He bore an icy, emotionless facial expression and cold, piercing eyes. He also had a scar on his face which extended from just above his left eye to the right of his lower lip.

The tom bowed to Macavity and introduced himself: "Lieutenant Commander Hoagemont, reporting as ordered, sir!"

Macavity stood up and walked around his desk. He held out his front paw, shook the tom's paw, and told him "At ease, Commander."

"Sir, I must say, it is an honor to finally meet you," stated the grey and black Siamese tom, "My fleet commander speaks very highly of you."

"I'm sure he does," remarked the Hidden Paw, "I am pleased to have you here as his ambassador."

"Indeed," said Hoagemont, always speaking in his same serious military tone, "I'm very interested to know what goes on at the heart of our empire."

"Then I shall give you a tour of the warehouse myself," Macavity declared, "Come with me."

Just before the three of them walked off, Macavity turned to the tan-striped queen and asked her "Would you care to join us, Vielal?"

She shrugged and responded "I guess so, seeing as how I'm usually the one who gives tours anyway."

So Macavity, his bodyguard, Hoagemont, and Vielal started a tour of the warehouse. They began with the first floor. There, they went through the main storage unit, the garage, the meeting room, the lounge, the cafeteria, the interrogation chambers, and most of the bedchambers.

Hoagemont was not especially impressed by anything on the first floor. But when they got to the second floor, Macavity stated "We'll now be taking a look at what's become of all the strays in the city."

"I always wondered what you did with them after you captured them," commented Hoagemont, "I mean, I know that some of them end up in our control, but I assume that the majority of them remain here."

"You are correct," Macavity confirmed his theory, "The Pollicles really do know how to hunt down the scum of the city."

Hoagemont scoffed and said "I'm certain they're experts at that. But I'm still curious; what DO you do with the strays that don't end up in our control?"

"Well, there are actually nine different possible fates for the strays we bring in," Macavity responded, "Each fate is determined by the room we assign them. Come, I'll show you."

The group of four made their way to a long corridor. There were nine doors in this corridor. Five were on the left; four were on the right. A henchcat was standing guard at each of these doors.

They turned to the first door on the left and stopped there.

"This is Room A – the Extermination Room," Macavity explained, "This room is never full for too long."

"I gathered that," remarked Hoagemont, "What types of cats are put in here?"

"Usually the elderly and the newborns, as well as the diseased and the disabled," Macavity responded, "You know, the useless ones that cannot contribute anything. At the end of every week, my henchcats play a little game with them. They take everybody in this room outside and give them the false impression that we're releasing them. Instead of that, they take them to an alley and wipe them all out."

"You mean like hunt them or something?" said Hoagemont.

"Yes, you could associate this with a hunt," Vielal remarked, "It's like cat-and-mouse, only with another cat instead of a mouse."

"Here, let's go inside," Macavity announced, "We can get a good look at them. Seeing them up close always makes for a good laugh. You see, I consider the people in this room to be the lowest of all us cats."

The guard at the door to Room A took a key out from his belt and unlocked the door. Then he opened it up for Macavity and his small group to enter.

Once they were inside the room, Macavity shouted "Get in line!"

Immediately, everyone in that room got into the same format as the strays that had been brought in earlier that night.

However, an adolescent kitten failed to get in line in less than fifteen seconds. When Macavity saw this, he picked the kitten out of the group and took her out of the room. Hoagemont, Vielal, and Macavity's bodyguard followed him out, closing the door behind them. The guard locked the door once they were all out.

Macavity gripped the kitten by the arm and turned to Hoagemont. He told him "Before we visit any of the other rooms with the strays, there's something else I would like to show you. Something that I think you will enjoy."

The kitten was trembling nervously, but she did not utter a word.

After walking through a few hallways, they arrived at the arsenal. On one side of the room, there were cat-sized swords, knives, archery sets, and other similar types of weapons lining the wall. But in the center of the room, there were crates of something one would never expect a cat to possess: handguns.

There were five henchcats in the room. Two were inspecting the medieval-type weapons on the wall, two were sitting at tables designing more guns, and one was inspecting the crates of guns.

The other end of the room was empty, but the wall had plenty of bullet holes in it.

When the henchcat inspecting the guns looked up and saw Macavity standing there, he smiled and stated "Good evening, Boss. Is there anything I can do for you?"

Macavity just approached the crates and asked the inspector "Are all of these already loaded?"

"Yes, sir, locked and ready to fire," replied the inspector.

"Good." Macavity picked up one of the handguns and turned to the adolescent kitten. He instructed her "Go stand on the other side of the room with your back turned to me. Do not turn around or even look over your shoulder. Is that understood?"

The kitten slowly nodded, but she was very afraid. However, she did her best to mask her fear.

Once she was just a few feet from the wall on the other side of the room, Macavity turned to Hoagemont and told him "Watch this carefully."

Then he cocked back the slide to load the barrel of his handgun. He pulled back the hammer to turn off the safety, pointed the handgun directly at the young queen across the room, took aim with the front sight, and pulled the trigger.

One solitary bullet sailed across the room and sank into the back of the kitten's skull. She collapsed dead almost immediately.

"Nice shot, Boss!" Vielal complimented her employer's aim.

"Why, thank you, Vielal," Macavity remarked slyly. He turned back to Hoagemont and told him "I assume you are familiar with firearms?"

"Yes, my fellow officers in the fleet have been creating and manufacturing them for a while now," Hoagemont responded, "We got shotguns, rifles, and – of course – cannons. However, I myself am not very partial to firearms. I'm more of a knife-and-blade person."

"I know," Macavity commented, "It said in your profile that you're an expert swordsman."

Hoagemont nodded and pointed to the scar on his face, saying "That's where I got this scar: A knife-fight. I actually got it at Growltiger's Last Stand."

"I know, your presence at Growltiger's Last Stand was also in your profile," said Macavity, "You actually engaged the crew of the _Demagogue _in battle?"

"Yes, but even though we won, it was a pyrrhic victory," Hoagemont recalled, "Over a hundred of my fellow officers died in battle that day."

"I understand that," Macavity stated, "Three months ago, some of the survivors of Growltiger's crew attacked my hideout. Even though we virtually wiped them out, we suffered greater losses."

"Oh, yes, I was informed of that event," remarked Hoagemont, "Is it true? Are you really holding Grumbuskin prisoner?"

"We are, indeed," Macavity confirmed, "We can 'visit' him later. For now, let's get back on track. In fact, let's make this a little more 'fun.'"

He picked up three more handguns and handed them to his bodyguard, Hoagemont, and Vielal.

At that moment, another henchcat stepped in the doorframe and informed Macavity "Sir, there's a queen at the front door requesting to see you."

Macavity looked over at him and asked "Is it anyone we know?"

"I'm not certain," stated the henchcat as he rested his paw on the wall, "She appears to be middle-aged, but her physique suggests otherwise. Her coat is somewhat shaggy, and it is composed of shades of white and brown."

Macavity stood, trying to recall any occasion when he conducted business with such a queen. When he could not, he ordered the henchcat "Tell her to go away."

"Just a moment, sir," said the henchcat, "There's one more thing you should know: she claims to be your mother."

Macavity froze in his place and turned back to the henchcat. He muttered slowly "That's… not… possible."

"She had a feeling you would say that," the henchcat told his Boss, "So she asked me to tell you this: The last time you spoke with her, she said that your song at the previous Jellicle Ball with your late mate was what inspired her to leave the Jellicle Tribe."

Macavity remembered that conversation with his mother. He knew that only she could know that information. He told the henchcat "Let her in. I'll be down shortly."

The henchcat nodded and left the room. Two of the other henchcats in the room went to collect the body of the newly deceased kitten and dispose of it.

Macavity turned to Hoagemont and stated "I hope you don't mind if we take a break from the tour; I just need to ensure that this queen is whom she claims to be."

Hoagemont nodded, saying "I understand."

Macavity and the other three went to the main storage unit. On the ground floor, they found a middle-aged queen standing in the center of the room. A few henchcats who were working in the room eyed her suspiciously, but kept their distance away from her.

When the queen saw Macavity, the shock in her eyes was monumental.

Macavity got closer, and almost immediately, he recognized this queen. She was a famous model from the northern part of the country, as well as much of Europe.

This was Grizabella the Glamour Cat, his mother.

"Well, this is a pleasant surprise," Macavity remarked cockily.

Grizabella folded her arms and snapped "I cannot say the same thing."

"Oh, really now, Mother, is that any way to greet your favorite son?" Macavity stated flatly, waving his arms dramatically.

Grizabella eyed Macavity, anger and frustration visible in her eyes "I did not want to believe it. I thought I was just being fed shameless lies. I firmly held my position that the rumors were not true. But I was wrong."

Macavity scoffed and asked "Wrong about what?"

"Your dishonorable actions," she replied in anger, "A few weeks ago, I was attending a fashion show at the Lyceum Theatre in Sheffield when I began hearing rumors. Rumors about you involving yourself in crime. At first, I tried to believe that they were just lies. But then the rumors became stronger and greater in number. I came all the way down here to convince myself that those were just lies… You disappointed me, Macavity. I am ashamed to call myself your mother."

Macavity's facial expressions turned incredulous. He glared at Grizabella angrily and told her "You've been gone for years, and this is the way you come back. You **dare **to barge in here and demean me in front of my subordinates?"

Grizabella looked around the room. Several henchcats shot her angry glares for the comments she had made about their Boss, but she remained totally calm. She remarked "You **have **gone insane."

"Insane?" said Macavity, chuckling, "I challenge you to find one single cat in this city that could match me in wits or intelligence. Just one!"

"Munkustrap," she replied, "And your father."

Macavity chortled and remarked "That black and silver buffoon has no idea what goes on behind his own back. And Father? You must be joking! It is only a matter of time before he succumbs to senility!"

"At least they're far more honorable than you," Grizabella pointed out.

There was a short period of silence. Macavity broke it when he said "Perhaps I can explain this a little more easily for you. I assume you've heard of the expression 'You Can't Go Home Again?'"

"Yes, I have indeed heard of it," Grizabella responded sternly.

"An expression can be interpreted many different ways," Macavity explained, "Some would say 'you can't go home again' means you literally cannot ever return to your place of residence if you run away. Others would say that it means home is only where one feels at peace. Others still would argue that it implies that you have to truly belong somewhere."

While he said this, he paced back and forth in front of Grizabella. She watched him closely and listened to his words. When he finished those lines, he stopped in front of her.

"But let me tell you what **I **believe it means," Macavity remarked, "I believe it means that there is no such thing as home. You just settle somewhere and declare it as home. And whenever you go back to one of your previous 'homes,' you find that things have changed. Nothing stays the same."

Macavity looked his mother directly in the eye and said "That is **exactly **what has happened here. The change is all around you, Mother. London has changed. The Jellicle Tribe has changed. The life of the average cat has changed. **I **have changed. I'd suggest that you face reality and admit that."

Grizabella stood there for a moment. Then she slowly approached her son. Without warning, she struck him in the face.

Macavity did not expect that. He stumbled and almost tripped over himself.

The henchcats in the room started to close in on Grizabella, but Macavity held his paw in the air to signal them to remain at their posts.

Macavity rose to his feet and coughed twice. Then he rubbed his face and glared at his mother. He told her through gritted teeth "That was a big mistake, Mother."

"On the contrary," Grizabella slyly stated, "I believe it was the most sensible thing I've done recently."

With that, Macavity slapped her across the face. Grizabella spun around and collapsed onto her chest.

Macavity walked in front of her and kneeled by her side. He stated "You wanted to see me? Well, I'll make you feel right at home."

He then seized his mother by the throat and lifted her up. He gazed at her neck. It was bare. He remarked "Well, what do you know? No collar! And I believe you do not own any land of your own. Guess that makes you… a stray!"

He dropped her and kicked her in the side.

He looked up at some of the henchcats in the room and told them "Take her to Room A."

They nodded and went over to Grizabella. Just before they could take ahold of her, Macavity stated "No, wait!"

The henchcats looked up at him. He smirked evilly and said "Put her with our 'special guest' instead. We should give the guy some company."

The henchcats then grabbed Grizabella, forced her onto her feet, and took her out of the room.

Macavity's evil smirk remained as he turned back to his bodyguard, Vielal, and Hoagemont. He shrugged and said "Let's get back to the tour."

**Review please! This is one chapter I really want to have reviewed. How would you describe your reaction to reading it? Shocked? Astounded? Angered? Even if you were disappointed, I would like to know. I'll be writing more chapters like this in the future. By the way, y****ou may have noticed that the letters in "Hoagemont" can be rearranged to spell "Amon Goeth." No, that's NOT a coincidence.**


	12. The Fates Of The Strays

**Note: I apologize if part of the message I put at the end of the last chapter seemed somewhat pretentious. No one told me that it did seem so, but in case anyone did think of it that way, I just wanted to assure you that I was not trying to "show off."**

The basement of Macavity's warehouse was not used very much by his henchcats. This is simply where they stored all their food, supplies, and everything aside from their weapons.

Only a few rooms were actually used. Most of them were restricted to all personnel on Macavity's orders. No one aside from him knew what was on the other side of these specific doors, which made a lot of the henchcats feel uneasy when they were down there.

It was not hard to get lost down there. The catacombs beneath the ground in this building involved a labyrinth of twists and turns. Even Macavity's most ruthless assassins feared going down there alone.

There was one particular room that was impossible to escape from. The walls were inches thick and filled in with durable metals. The door had an electronic lock that could not be sabotaged or picked. Even the ventilation shafts in this room were barred.

In the basement of Macavity's warehouse, a middle-aged black and grey striped tom sat alone in a cell.

He had been a prisoner of the Hidden Paw for three months. That much time had passed since he last saw sunlight.

For twenty-four hours a day, he sat in complete darkness, feeling as if he would go blind at any time. His night vision was as pristine as any cat's, but he was almost losing himself in it.

The door to his cell was never opened. Three times a day, a hole in the ceiling would open and someone would let down a basket of food. His options for meals were limited to whatever was in the basket. Usually it was just stale bread, slightly rotten fruit, and only partially cooked meat. Other times, he did not even know WHAT he was eating.

Still, it was better than starving. But not much.

This was a bathroom to the side of the cell, which he would sometimes go into to bathe or… other reasons. But he went in there as infrequently as possible; there was foul stench in that room that bothered him greatly. He guessed that it had not been cleaned in at least a year.

Despite these unsanitary living conditions, he considered himself lucky. Just thinking about his son and his friends seemed to give him solace. Six months earlier, he had made a promise to his son that he would see him again. If he had died during the battle in which he was captured, he would have broken that promise. But he was still alive, and he had every intention of seeing his son again.

A few minutes after the events of the previous chapter, he heard footsteps approaching the door to his cell.

People rarely came to his cell, and whenever they did come, it was normally just Macavity and the Siamese ambassador, the latter of which would always want to get a good look at the face of the tom who killed Genghis.

The black and grey tom looked up and turned his head towards the door. It was opened and a few henchcats pushed a middle-aged queen inside. She fell onto her stomach and laid flat on the ground. The henchcats then closed and locked the cell behind her.

Grizabella picked herself up off the ground and looked around the cell. It was dark, damp, and empty. However, she soon saw that she was not alone.

She eyed the black and grey tom nervously, as if she was expecting him to do something terrible.

The black and grey tom saw the skepticism in her eyes and just looked away, saying "There is no need to feel alarmed, ma'am. I will not harm you."

Grizabella was not entirely set at ease, but she decided to trust the tom.

She slowly walked over to him and sat down beside him. It was hard to tell if he was older or younger than she was; they were both about the same age. But if Grizabella had to guess, she would say that she was slightly older.

She decided to introduce herself. If she was going to be in that cell for a while, she wanted to at least get to know the name of her cellmate.

"I'm Grizabella," she said, holding out her paw to the tom, "What is your name?"

The black and grey tom looked up at her, shook her paw, and replied "My name is Grumbuskin."

…

Two stories higher, Macavity and his three comrades had returned to the corridor with the nine rooms. They passed by the first door on the left (Room A – the Extermination Room) and stepped up to the first door on the right.

Macavity announced "This is Room B – the Recruit Room. This is where we send all the strays that have enough potential to become henchcats themselves."

"Which cats go here?" queried Hoagemont.

"A great number of the kittens," Macavity explained, "The ones that are typically between nine and seventeen cat years old. You see, they have to be young and naïve enough so that they can be brainwashed into accepting my group's ideals, but they also have to be old and strong enough so that they can fend for themselves. About seventy percent of the cats in this room are male."

"Are we going to go inside?" asked the Siamese ambassador.

"Yes," Macavity nodded, "We'll be going inside all of them, except Room H."

"Why not Room H?" said Hoagemont.

"I'll tell you when we get there," Macavity assured him.

The henchcat standing guard at Room B unlocked the door and let his boss and his company inside.

Indeed, the room was full of kittens only. A lot of them were in groups; only a few were by themselves. Some seemed to be scared out of their wits while others appeared to be downright hostile.

Several of the kittens noticed Macavity come in. Most of them did not even cringe in fear. They stood up straight and saluted him.

"As you were," was all he said.

The kittens returned to whatever they were doing.

"I see several of them are already making great progress," commented Hoagemont.

"That's nothing," said Macavity, "Watch this."

He walked over to two kittens that were having a conversation with each other. He said "Ahem" to get their attention. They looked up at him and silence hanged between them for a few moments.

Macavity then said to the kittens "Do you have a moment?"

"For you, sir, anything," one replied obediently. The other nodded in agreement.

Macavity turned to the one that spoke and asked him "Would you be so kind as to tell me what the first rule of this organization is?"

The tom-kit replied straightforwardly "The number one rule is 'Don't fuck with the Boss.'"

"Correct," said Macavity. He turned to the other kitten and asked her "What do you do when you encounter a Jellicle?"

"Kill on sight," she answered.

"Exactly," Macavity smirked, patting her kindly on the cheek, "I see you two have the basics down."

"We try our best, sir," remarked the queen-kit.

Macavity nodded and stood up. He was about to leave the room with his group when something caught his eye.

A queen-kit was sitting by herself in the corner. She appeared to be crying.

Macavity turned to his group and said "Excuse me for a moment." Then he approached the sobbing kitten and asked her "Why are you crying?"

When she looked up, he could see that her face was covered in bruises. She replied timidly while pointing across the room "Th-th-that tom over there beat me up just because I 'got in his way.'"

Macavity saw who she was pointing at. He knew that particular tom-kit; he was one of the more sarcastic and cheeky recruits. But at that moment, Macavity got an idea to keep him in line with everyone else.

He kneeled down next to the queen and whispered in her ear "You shouldn't let him get away with that. If you really want to do something about this, don't weep over it like a pitiful coward! Instead, make it clear to that tom that you don't like to be beaten."

"How?" she asked.

"Give him a taste of his own medicine," Macavity responded.

The queen-kit stopped crying and she could see that the ginger cat did indeed have a point. She stood up and walked over to the tom that had beaten her.

While she did this, Mac held his left front paw in the air slightly and muttered an incantation under his breath.

The queen-kit tapped the abusive tom-kit on the back. He turned around and remarked angrily "I thought I told you to piss off. Do I need to give you another lesson in-"

Before he could respond, she slugged him in the face. He collapsed onto the ground while his friends backed away in alarm.

The queen-kit then brought herself closer to the tom-kit and punched him over and over. After punching him a total of eleven times, she stopped. Then she stood up and asked sharply "Are we at an understanding now?"

He slowly nodded, holding his arms out in surrender, and stammered "S-sure. Whatever you say."

The queen-kit said "Good" and helped him up while Macavity went back to the door with the others.

"How could that queen have delivered such a beating onto that tom?" asked Hoagemont, "He's clearly much stronger than her."

"I gave her a little **help**," Macavity responded.

As you probably already know, Macavity was a mystic; the incantation he had muttered under his breath was a spell that temporarily increased a person's physical strength exponentially. He had lifted his arm to focus it on the queen-kit while it was in effect.

"This is how I deal with problems among the recruits," Macavity told the Siamese cat, "The last thing I need is an emotionally-unstable trainee."

The two of them left the room with Vielal and Macavity's bodyguard. As the guard at the door locked it up again, Macavity explained "When I'm convinced that a person in there is officially on my side, I let that person out of Room B and allow them to stay in the dormitories. They're the only ones that will be allowed to live with the others at some point. But that's not to say that they're the only strays that have ever **been **in the crew quarters. Several of the cats in the next room have spent at least one night in a dormitory."

The four of them made their way to the second door on the left side of the hall. Macavity announced "This is Room C – the Concubine Room. This is where we take all the strays that are the most physically attractive. This room is usually intended as a way for some of my henchcats to have some pleasure for a night. Or a day, depending on their work shifts. We can also turn a profit from this room. Some of my business associates come by here to do some work with me. Occasionally, they are searching for a mistress, so they buy one of the cats in this room from me."

"So, are you saying that all the cats in this room are female?" queried Hoagemont.

"Pretty much," Macavity shrugged, "I would say that the ratio of toms to queens in this room is about the reverse of the ratio in the previous room. The strays that go in here are mostly young adults, but we have several kittens here, too. These are the kittens that are either too weak or too smart to be placed in Room B."

"Alright," stated Hoagemont, "Let's go in."

The door was unlocked by the guard and the group of four stepped inside.

"Get in line!" Vielal shouted as they entered.

Moving as quickly as possible, the strays in the room got into line in several different rows.

There were a few seconds of silence before someone spoke. Macavity turned to Hoagemont and asked him "Do you have a mate, Commander?"

"No, sir," replied the Siamese tom.

"Then, if you wish, I could have one of the queens in this room reserved for you," offered Macavity.

Hoagemont stood thinking for a moment before saying "Perhaps. Let me take a look here."

He walked down the first line, studying each of the queens. Some of them were definitely too young to have intercourse, but guessing by certain marks on their bodies, it appeared as though most of them were not innocent.

Hoagemont stopped halfway down the line when he came to a cream and red queen. She was the only one looking towards the ground. Everyone else at least managed to look forward.

Hoagemont placed his paw under her chin and lifted her head up so that her eyes met his.

He did not think of her as the most beautiful queen in the room, but she was the one that seemed to stand out the most.

"What is your name?" he asked her.

She hesitated for a moment before responding "Paulina."

"Tell me a bit of your background, Paulina," requested the Siamese tom.

"There's not much to it, sir," she answered, "I've lived on the streets for as long as I can remember. My father died when I was very young, so my mother and I have been forced to rough our living."

Hoagemont took a note of her words. Her background was no different than the average stray. She looked no different and talked no different. However, when he looked into her eyes, he saw something that separated her from every other stray in that room.

Hoagemont could tell that Paulina was a little intimidated by him, but she appeared to be the only one that did not genuinely fear him. He was not sure why that was; it was possible she was very brave. It was equally possible that she was very ignorant. But whatever the reason, it had caught Hoagemont's attention.

"She'll do," Hoagemont announced to Macavity while keeping his eyes focused on Paulina.

"No, not her!" said a queen about three positions further down the line.

Macavity and the other three in his group turned to look at that queen for a moment. Then his bodyguard walked over to her and pointed his handgun directly at her face. He shouted "Did anyone ask for your opinion? I think not; no one gave you permission to speak!"

"She isn't even an adult yet," the other queen insisted, facing Hoagemont, "She's still innocent. Please, not her!"

Macavity's bodyguard struck the queen with the front of his handgun. She grasped her head with both hands and moaned in pain. The bodyguard snapped "Another word out of your mouth, and I'll use this thing for its intended use."

Hoagemont smirked and said slyly "Well, I guess that that's settled."

Despite now knowing that the queen he had selected was underage and still a virgin, he had his focus set on her. He turned back to Macavity and told him "If this is not too much to ask, sir, I'd like Paulina to be transferred to my quarters. Whenever my quarters are ready, I mean."

Macavity raised an eyebrow and said "Are you certain, Commander? None of my henchcats actually shares a room with someone from Room C."

"Well, with all due respect, sir, I'm not one of your henchcats," Hoagemont pointed out, "I do acknowledge you as my prime leader, but remember that I'm only here as Mouveilyr's ambassador."

"Very well," Macavity agreed, "Your quarters have already been prepared; after the tour I'll make arrangements to have Paulina moved there."

The group of four stepped back out into the hallway. As the guard locked the door behind them, they came to the second door on the right.

Macavity stated "This is Room D – the Endurance Room. We submit the strays in this room to various tests to measure how much physical torture they can withstand. You could think of them as projects or something similar. I'd like to say this is one of the more diverse rooms, but selecting who goes here can be difficult at times."

"How do you decide?" asked Hoagemont.

"When all the strays are brought here, I examine them visually," Macavity explicated, "Usually cats that appear to be tough, rigid, and capable of withstanding a lot of pain are assigned to this room. Sometimes I also assign the ones that speak without permission during my visual examination. A lot of the strays in here are young adults, but most of the rest are close to middle-aged. The ratio of toms to queens is about the same."

"There's not much to see in this room," Vielal added in, "The equipment we use on this group is kept in another room."

"Yes, that's another thing," commented Macavity, "We take the strays in here to a different room on this floor at certain times of the day. Room D, Room E, and Room F are the only rooms that are emptied of all of their occupants for a certain amount of time every day and later have the occupants returned to them later in the day."

The four of them went inside this room. Several of the cats in this room looked as if they had been beaten for twelve hours straight without breaks.

Macavity gave the order to get in line once more.

Despite feeling the lingering effects of prolonged physical agony, almost everyone managed to drag themselves into lines. However, one tom was giving a queen a helping hand. This queen could not even stand on her legs, and the expression her face suggested that her mind could not focus.

Macavity made a gesture towards the pair at Vielal. She walked over to them and asked rigidly "Can she walk?"

The tom said desperately "Yes, yes she can."

Vielal was not convinced. She then asked the queen "Can you walk?"

The queen did not respond. She could not concentrate on anything happening outside her head.

After ten seconds, Vielal raised her handgun and shot the queen in the forehead. Blood immediately started spouting out.

The tom gazed in shock at his friend's lifeless form. Enraged, he dropped her body and threw his front paw at Vielal's face.

Vielal ducked before he could hit her. The tom was about to deliver another blow when Macavity's bodyguard intervened. He stepped forward and shot the tom in the neck.

Now there were two corpses on the ground.

Hoagemont turned to Macavity and told him "You were right. There **isn't **much to see in here. Let's move on."

The group of four left the room, leaving the bodies in the room with the other strays. As always, the door was locked again.

As the group stepped up to the third door on the left side of the corridor, Hoagemont turned to Macavity's bodyguard and told him "Now that I think about it, I don't believe I caught your name."

The bodyguard smirked and replied "It's Oswald."

After the two of them settled that insignificant matter, Macavity stepped up to the next door and stated "This is Room E – the Workforce Room. The cats that end up in here are given the opportunity to work. I have them doing most of the arduous labor that my henchcats often are reluctant to do – such as transporting heavy machinery and such. Some even make good technicians. However, we always monitor them to ensure that they do not attempt escape."

"Quite sensible," commented Hoagemont, "Who all goes in there?"

"I typically select the strays that appear to be strongly-built and intelligent," Macavity expounded, "That being said, young adults to middle-aged adults go in here. I'm very good at determining how intelligent a person is just by looking at him or her. Some of the strays in here even have enough aptitude to become henchcats themselves. Also, the cats in this room are the only ones that are allowed medical attention. But only if their injuries are not fatal."

There was not much to see in this room. But the cats in Room E appeared to be doing considerably better than the cats in the two previous rooms.

So far, this group was the only one that seemed to actually interest Hoagemont.

"Are you thinking of putting them to work outside your warehouse?" he asked the Hidden Paw.

"I've considered it," Macavity replied, "Why do you ask?"

"We could use some extra workers in the fleet," Hoagemont responded, "At the moment, I can only think of some menial tasks that these strays would be good for, but it's still an option to expand productivity and lessen the workload for the rest of the fleet."

"I'll give your idea some thought," Macavity assured him.

After leaving this room, they stepped up to the third door on the right side of the corridor. Macavity told Hoagemont "This is Room F – the Insanity Room. Like the cats in Room D, the strays in here are submitted to certain tests daily. However, we measure how much **physical **punishment the cats in Room D can take. The cats in here are given tests to determine how much **mental **torture they can withstand. This room is just as diverse as Room D, as well."

"Do you use a similar method of deciding who gets sent here?" queried Hoagemont.

"It's partially similar," Macavity told him, "We need cats that look as if they can withstand some amount of pain. However, we also need cats that are clear-minded and fully coordinated. Young adults and near-middle-aged adults make up most of the population in this room. Their minds are the most mature."

"The strays sent to this room are more likely to slip into madness than anyone else," Vielal briefly took over, "Last week, this one tom lost his mind completely and killed two others in there before we put him down."

"Fortunately, we've taken precautions to ensure that that does not happen again," Macavity added in.

In this room, several cats had messed-up coats. They had a certain look in their eyes; a look that suggested that their primal sides were trying to take control of their minds.

Macavity had them line up as usual. Several of them suffered from uncontrollable twitches. Others looked as if they saw doubles of everything.

Hoagemont was still fascinated. "I've never met anyone that went berserk before. Though it is a strange thing to see one practically lose their identity as they forget who they are."

"Those are my thoughts exactly," Macavity concurred.

One moment later, one of the toms in the back shouted liked a lunatic and charged toward Macavity with his claws bared.

Just before he could reach him, Hoagemont raised his handgun and shot the tom in the mouth.

The body fell to the ground, twitching uncontrollably.

"Thank you for that," Macavity said to the Siamese ambassador.

"My pleasure," remarked Hoagemont. He looked down at his handgun and thought aloud "I think I'm really starting to like these things."

"Yes, they're quite efficient," said Macavity, "I've already made arrangements to have scores of them distributed to your fleet."

"I'll be certain to notify Mouveilyr," commented the Siamese tom.

They left that room and went to the fourth room on the left side of the corridor. Macavity stepped in front of the door and declared "This is Room G – the Sorcerer Room. This room has the smallest number of inhabitants by far, and its inhabitants have a certain characteristic that distinguishes them from the rest of the strays."

"What might that be?" asked Hoagemont.

"They're all mystics," Macavity replied, "As I'm certain you already know, I myself am a mystic. All mystics have the ability to sense out the minds of other mystics. That's how I decide who goes to Room G; if a stray happens to be a mystic, they go here. That's the only feature I look for; their ages and genders play no role in determining whether or not they are sent here."

"What do you do with them?" queried the Siamese ambassador.

"I train them to think like I do," Macavity explained, "You see, most of the mystics I find are not even aware that they ARE mystics until I enlighten them. I, on the other hand, found out I was a mystic at a relatively young age and I began training short after the discovery was made. Ever since then I have been honing my abilities. I doubt there's a single mystical cat alive that could match me. Except perhaps… my son."

"You have a son?" said Hoagemont, raising an eyebrow in interest.

"I actually have two," answered Macavity, "But I'd rather not talk about them right now. Anyway, because I am far more disciplined and versed in the abilities of a mystic, I'm able to manipulate the power of the stray mystics. This allows me to increase my own power while I slowly corrupt their minds as well. I suppose that after a certain amount of time has passed, I'll be able to make them henchcats, too."

There were only fifteen cats in Room G; the other rooms had anywhere from fifty to one hundred and fifty. The strays in this room almost looked as if they were in a trance. Evidently, Macavity's power had already taken ahold of their minds.

"This seems to be the most compliant of all the groups I've seen today," Hoagemont commented.

"I like to think so, as well," stated Macavity, "I just have to focus on their minds for a while and then they're in my control."

"Astonishing," remarked Hoagemont.

After the leaving the room, the group stepped up to the fourth and last door on the right side on the corridor. Macavity told Hoagemont "This is Room H – the Deterioration Room. As I told you earlier, this is the one room in this corridor that I would never recommend entering. I shall now tell you why. The strays we send her are the ones that weight a great deal more than the others. You know; the really fat, lazy ones."

"Ah, yes," Hoagemont understood what he was saying; "I find those types repulsive."

"As do we," said Vielal, "Room H is one room in this corridor that's mostly just here for amusement."

"You see, we take all the obese cats and put them all together in this room," Macavity explained, "Then, we help them lose weight. We do this by never providing them with food; we just let them starve. We give them water, alright, but no food. They slip into madness almost as quickly as the cats in Room F. However, what really makes this room so amusing is what the cats in there are willing to do in order to survive. They turn savage and attack each other. They make for a good fight."

"That certainly peaks my interest," said Hoagemont, "So, you never open the door?"

"Only to let new arrivals in," Macavity confirmed, "We put in a slot in the door that can be moved so that we can watch the fights. Here, I'll show you."

The guard at this door unlocked a small door found near the bottom and slid it open. Inside this room, there were several cats that were so thin that they almost appeared to be anorexic. They were standing over the skeletal remains of another cat, and so were struggling to feast of it against the crowd. In other parts of the room, cats were fighting each other, trying to kill each other for their next meal.

Hoagemont scoffed and said "This is **quite **amusing, indeed."

As the guard closed the slot and locked it up again, Macavity told Hoagemont "It's been awhile since a notably fat stray was picked up. But I imagine that once we find another one and toss that cat in there, the others will view him or her as a FEAST."

The two of them chuckled, as did Vielal and Oswald.

They walked to the left side of the hall and came to the fifth door, which was also the final door in that corridor. Macavity declared "This is Room I – the Freight Room. This is where we send all the cats that don't really fit in anywhere else in this hallway. These cats are the ones we provide your fleet with."

"Ah, yes," Hoagemont commented, "I wondered when we would get to them. You don't need to explain these cats to me; I know what becomes of them."

"You do?" said Macavity, "In that case, tell me."

"At the end of every week, you transport everyone in this room to one of the ships in my fleet," Hoagemont responded, "Then our best scientists have their way with them."

Macavity smirked and said "You are correct."

**Note: IF this chapter was a little too shocking, I apologize; I just had to write all this out. The next chapter will explain what happens to the people in Room I. That will be another critical part of the plot.**

**Review, please! This is another chapter I would really like to have critiqued; what are your thoughts?**


	13. Test Subjects

The strays in Room I did not have the worst fate of all the strays Macavity gathered up, but they DID have the most nightmarish fate.

Every week, the cats in Room I were transferred from Macavity's hideout to the Siamese fleet. From there, they were transported to different buildings along the Thames River.

Humans assumed these buildings were abandoned. After these buildings had been forsaken by humans, the Siamese transformed them into secret laboratories. They used these labs to conduct unspeakable experiments on other cats.

They used the strays from Room I as their test subjects. The data they collected from these experiments was used to find new breakthroughs in scientific technology. However, the death toll for the experiments was very high.

The Siamese had been running these experiments for months before Macavity took them over. However, they did not run the experiments on strays back then; they found other test subjects along the river. Those test subjects were still being used.

One thing the Siamese and Growltiger had in common was that both of them were somewhat xenophobic. However, the only foreign cats that Growltiger hated were ones like the Persians, the Abyssinians, and the Siamese. Specifically, any cats with some form of Mongolian, Chinese, or Egyptian heritage.

The Siamese, on the other hand, demonstrated hostility towards almost all cats born outside of Great Britain. Before Macavity provided the Siamese with strays, they captured any crews of cats from foreign ships they could find and used them as their test subjects.

Some of the crews they found were French crew, an Italian crew, and a Spanish crew. Each race was sent to a different building.

However, they viewed a certain American crew as their largest and greatest find.

In the basement of one of the laboratories – the one where all the American sailors were sent – a young orange and grey tom was sitting in a room against the wall. He was trying to control the pain he felt in his arm. All the following happened just after Macavity finished giving Hoagemont a tour of the Corridor of Strays.

This particular orange and grey tom was the Captain of a vessel; a vessel much like the Feline Navy on the Thames.

Even though he was in terrible pain, he was determined to keep his dignity by not letting his agony show.

He was not alone in the room; there were many other cats with him. These cats were the tom's crewmembers and fellow officers. About forty percent of them were queens. The rest were toms. Most of them were also in terrible pain. Several were unconscious, some were asleep, and others were still awake, but were lightly moaning.

The orange and grey tom could hardly blame them; some of them had received even worse treatments than he had.

The tom knew that he and his company had been trapped there for at least four months, but they had lost count of how many days they had been there.

Ever since day one of arriving in that building, the Siamese had experimented on the Captain and his colleagues. At least once a day, each of them was given an injection of some sort.

The Siamese scientists who ran these experiments conducted them without a single visible shred of sympathy for their "test subjects." Whenever one of them died, they simply collected the body and conducted an autopsy to see what damage the injections had caused and how to improve on future experiments.

Psychologically, the majority of the toms in the crew were doing well. The queens, not so much.

Most of the queens there had been subjected to brutal sexual abuse at least once.

Sometimes, the scientists would leave the experimentation rooms to file their discoveries while the "test subject" was still strapped down to the table. Most of the guards were male, and very often, whenever the "test subject" was a queen, one or more of the guards would take advantage of her.

Sometimes the sex offenders were caught by the scientists. But instead of reprimanding them, they simply let them off with a warning. All they ever got was warnings. The scientists did not care if their test subjects were being sexually harassed; they actually saw this as a beneficial way to compare results from other experiments in terms of the test subject's mental health.

A few members of the crew had attempted escape, but none of them ever got past the outer door to their cell.

However, despite all the torture he and his crew had undergone, the Captain was determined to get out of there with his people. He was also determined to make the Siamese suffer for their actions.

After several minutes of almost complete silence, one of the conscious cats – a younger gold and brown queen – crawled over to the Captain and asked him "C-Captain, how much longer do you think we can keep this up?"

The orange and grey tom turned to the younger cat and told her "I don't know, Vecinha. We just have to keep holding on."

"Sir, there is very little we have left to hold on to," stated Vecinha, "If the Siamese keep performing these tests on us, we'll die. Just like the others."

The Captain nodded slowly and turned to face the wall in front of them. He said "I know, but we can't give up. We will get out of here, I promise you."

"I do hope you're right, Captain," said a silver and cream tom who sat up next to the orange and grey tom, "These experiments are getting more and more hazardous. A few more of our people are on the verge of death."

"He's right," said Vecinha to the Captain, "And it appears there's been another occurrence of rape. This case was particularly harsh."

The Captain sighed in sorrow and asked "Who was it this time?"

"Inaleny," replied the silver and cream tom, gesturing over at sleeping a grey and calico queen sitting a few feet away from them, "It happened yesterday, just when you were being taken away for your injection, Captain. She was in shock for over an hour until Vecinha and I managed to calm her down."

The Captain was stunned. He turned to the silver and cream tom and demanded "What happened to her, Edolseer? I want to know!"

Edolseer, the silver and cream tom sighed and stated "I can only tell you what she told me, sir. After she was given her injection, the scientists left the room. There were three guards in that room watching over her. Once they were absolutely certain they were alone, the three of them… 'took turns' abusing her. The scientists actually caught one of them in the act, but didn't do anything to stop him."

The Captain felt cold rage surging through his veins. He shouted angrily "Those bastards! Inaleny is barely even an adult queen! How DARE they take advantage of a queen as young as her! If ever I get my paws on those three, they'll regret they ever got involved in this business!"

"Captain, you've already sworn vengeance on the Siamese fleet for what they've done to the rest of our comrades," Vecinha reminded him, "The best thing we can do now is hope we can get out of here."

Vecinha tried to sit up straight, but the Captain noticed she was having difficulty.

"Vecinha, are you alright?" he asked in concern.

"Yes, sir," she told him, without even looking him in the eye.

The Captain was not convinced. He could tell she was hiding something from him.

He placed his paw on her shoulder and said "Tell me."

Vecinha hesitated for a few moments before finally deciding to answer him. She told him "Captain, you know how most of the queens here have been abused by the guards on at least one occasion?"

The Captain nodded.

"I didn't want to tell you this, but I may as well," Vecinha stated, "I'm one of those queens."

The Captain and Edolseer were shocked again. The latter asked "Who was it? Who did this to you?"

"I don't know his name, but I do know his appearance," she replied, "It's always the same tom."

"'Always the same?'" noted the Captain, "You mean this has happened more than once?"

"Eight times, sir," said Vecinha, "It's always him. ALWAYS. He seems to have a particular 'fondness' for me. I asked some of the other queens in our company; some tell me he's guarded them before, but he has never touched them. I'm his only… victim."

"Why didn't you tell us about this?" asked Edolseer.

"You guys already have enough on your minds," Vecinha responded, "The rest of the crew needs your attention more than I."

"Vecinha, you're just as important to me as everyone else here!" The Captain told her, putting his arm around her, "Haven't you been under terrible pain?"

"Yes, Captain, I have been, but the only really traumatic experience was the first time that son of a bitch abused me," she assured him, "I still utterly despise having him… inside me, but I know screaming or begging him to stop won't convince him to leave me alone. So I do neither to avoid giving him the satisfaction."

The Captain placed his paw on Vecinha's shoulder and told her "You have to be amongst the bravest sailors I ever worked with, Vecinha. Only someone of an extremely strong mind and conscience could manage that."

"Thank you, sir," was all she said.

Edolseer stretched his legs and leaned back against the wall. He commented "I hope it won't be long before we can initiate the plan."

"I can assure you it will not be long, Edolseer," remarked the Captain, "We just need a little more information about the ground floor, and then we can put the plan into action."

Vecinha and Edolseer smiled at their Captain. After a few more moments of silence, Vecinha said "Captain, there's something I'd like to ask you."

"Go ahead," said the orange and grey tom, "But first, I've told you this over and over; given the situation, I believe it is more appropriate for you to simply address me by my given name instead of my title."

Edolseer smirked and commented "Whatever you say, Jonathan."

Vecinha then asked her question "Sir… how do you feel?"

Jonathan took a moment to think about this question. It was a very simple question, but because of his current physical condition, he felt that the answer would require some careful thinking.

Finally, he replied "It's hard to explain, but I'll tell you as best I can. I suppose I feel terrible because of all these tests the Siamese have put us through, yet the injections have made me feel better physically and intellectually."

"Sir, that is precisely how I feel," stated Edolseer, "I feel weaker… and stronger at the same time."

"I feel the same way," remarked Vecinha, "Despite the amount of anguish the Siamese have put me under because of these consistent injections, as well as the… abuse, I feel smarter, stronger, and faster."

"Why would the Siamese increase our intelligence, strength, and speed?" queried Edolseer, "I mean, I figured that that was the whole point of these injections in the first place, but what's the purpose?"

"You mustn't forget that these Siamese are very passionate about scientific breakthroughs," Jonathan reminded him, "Perhaps they are doing this to us just so they can satisfy an ambition. They must be trying to discover how to exponentially improve a cat's skills and dexterity."

"But why don't they give everyone the same number of injections?" said Vecinha, "And for that matter, why are they using so many different chemical combinations on us?"

"My guess is that they are unsure which combination most effectively improves speed, strength, and intelligence at the same time," speculated Edolseer.

"And they obviously have no clue as to which combinations can be lethal," Vecinha added in, "Just look at what happened to a number of our colleagues."

"That's another thing," Edolseer turned to Jonathan, "Sir, even if we do escape, we cannot let the Siamese get away with these acts of barbarity and murder."

"Don't worry about that, Edolseer," Jonathan assured his friend, "We will make the Siamese pay for what they've done. For now, all we can do is try to survive."

Vecinha scoffed and said drily "That's what we've been doing since our first day in this hellhole."

A few minutes later, they heard the door to their cell block open and a few other cats stepped inside.

Soon, they heard someone approach the outer door to their cell and the main door was opened. Someone was let inside the area between the two cell doors and then the outer door was sealed.

A voice called out a moment later "Stand clear of the door!"

Of course, no one in that cell was sitting near the door, but it was regulation to say that before the inner door to a cell was opened.

A moment later, the inner cell door slid open via the use of a computer and a tan and white tom was thrown inside the cell by two Siamese guards.

Once the tan and white tom was inside, the inner door was closed and sealed off once more.

The cats in the cell heard the outer door open and close again, and then the door to the cell block opened and closed again.

Siamese had gone to great length to ensure that their prisoners had no chance of escape.

The white and tan tom limped his way over to Jonathan, Vecinha, and Edolseer.

"Hey, guys," he greeted them.

"Are you alright, Kylam?" queried Jonathan.

"I guess so, Captain," answered the white and tan tom, "I got a new injection today in a new room."

"Was it as bland and tasteless as the other rooms?" asked Vecinha jokingly.

Kylam shrugged and said "Pretty much. The injection was in my arm, but I feel that it's affecting my ability to walk straight. But… there is a bit of good news."

"What might that be?" asked Edolseer in interest.

"The new room happened to be in a different part of the first floor," responded Kylam, "It was in the room farthest to the West."

"The West?" said Jonathan. He sat thinking for a moment, and then he said "That's the only exterior room on the first floor none of us has ever seen!"

Kylam nodded with a smirk across his face, "I also managed to determine an access code from one of the guards."

"Really?" said Edolseer, "How did you manage that? The escorts always make sure we can never see the panels on each door."

"That's true, but you know how these injections are making us more intelligent?" said Kylam.

"Yes, in fact, we were just discussing that," replied Vecinha.

"Well, even though I couldn't see the panel, I did manage to make a note of the guard's position in relation to the panel," Kylam informed his associates, "Based on the movement of his arm, I was able to determine by myself which numerical sequence he entered into the panel."

"Wow, that's pretty good," Edolseer commented, "Right now, I myself feel very intelligent as well, but I do not believe even I could have been so certain of something like that."

"I guess it depends upon the injections," Vecinha hypothesized, "We all gain different abilities depending on the dosage and the chemicals used."

Jonathan sat thinking about Kylam's discoveries. After a few moments, he said "The Siamese always experiment on each of us at a certain time of the day. If I remember correctly, it gets dark at around seven o'clock at night. That will be the ideal time for one of us to escape. Who gets taken away for more testing at seven o'clock?"

"I believe I do, sir," replied Vecinha, "I'm up for more scientific torture at that time."

Jonathan ordered his three colleagues "Wake up the others and gather them together. It's time to initiate the plan."

…

Several hours later, back in the Jellicle Junkyard, Admetus and Etcetera were having breakfast together in 'Metus' den. They had some fried mice with a side of biscuits and orange juice.

"Did you hear the news?" she asked him while they ate.

"What news?" he queried.

"There were more abductions last night," she clarified, "It seems that more than half of the Marigold Tribe was taken away by the Pollicle dogs. One of their leaders came by earlier and told Munkustrap what had happened."

"Doesn't the Marigold Tribe live in an abandoned building?" asked Admetus.

"Yes, but the Pollicles still got inside just as easily as if they were walking through the woods," Etcetera replied, "Munkustrap is becoming increasingly uptight about all these abductions. He's put everybody in the Tribe on yellow alert. However, I have a feeling it won't be long before he puts us on red alert."

Admetus shrugged and said "He's just trying to be a good Protector. Hopefully it won't be long before he has managed to acquire some of these 'licenses' he spoke of a few days ago."

"I guess so," she stated, "For now, let's just put this to the side and enjoy our day."

"Yes, let's," he agreed.

After the two of them were finished eating breakfast, they walked outside. There, Pouncival and Tumblebrutus were waiting for them.

The two knockabout toms hopped down from a junk pile to the two lovers' sides, taking them off guard.

"Morning, guys," remarked Tumblebrutus.

"Hi, Pounce, Tumble," Admetus greeted them.

"Is there anything we can do for you?" Etcetera asked her brothers.

"No, there's nothing we need from you, Cettie," answered Pouncival, "But there is something we need to talk to 'Metus about."

"What might that be?" queried Admetus.

"It's not something we'd like to discuss with anyone other than you, 'Metus," Tumblebrutus responded, "If it's alright with you, we would like to talk to you in private."

Admetus groaned in annoyance and asked "Does it have to be now?"

"Well, it is of some importance," said Pouncival, "So, yes, if you don't mind, we'd like to talk about it now."

Admetus wanted to deny them this request, but Etcetera told him "It's alright, Addie. Electra and I were actually planning to do something together this morning, so I guess this fits our schedule perfectly."

Admetus sighed and said to Pouncival and Tumblebrutus "Alright, it's fine with me if we talk. Just promise me that you are not wasting my time."

"We're not," Tumble assured him.

Etcetera kissed Admetus good-bye and went off to meet up with Electra.

"Okay, now we talk," said Admetus, looking at the two younger toms.

"We'd like to discuss it in private," Pounce requested.

Admetus agreed to this. The three of them went over to the demolished TSE-1 car, opened up the trunk, climbed inside, and shut it again. This was one place where they knew they would not be overheard.

"Now what is so important that you have to take me from my queenfriend this early in the morning?" Admetus asked them.

"'Metus, you've been gone a lot at night recently," Tumblebrutus started out.

"So, several months ago, you were also gone a lot at night," Admetus pointed out to the white and brown patched tom.

"That's why we're talking with you," Pouncival continued, "We're convinced that you've been living a double life at night."

"What makes you say that?" Admetus scoffed, remaining totally calm.

"Last night, someone came into the junkyard," Tumblebrutus explained, "Someone we swore we saw at the remarkably short battle between the Pekingese and the Pollicles."

"You mean a dog came into the junkyard?" Admetus asked them, looking a little worried.

"No, this was no dog," Pouncival took over, "This person was definitely a cat. He had red flashing eyes, a black and cream coat, and several distinguishing features from any other cat we've ever seen. However, Tumble and I followed this cat to a secluded part of the junkyard and watched him remove his costume. He gradually took it all off bit by bit. When he was finished, he hid it somewhere. Then he finally turned around and we got to see his face."

Admetus was shocked; he was certain that no one had seen him enter the junkyard that night. But Pouncival and Tumblebrutus had indeed spotted him.

"Who was he?" he asked them, trying to act casual.

"'Metus, don't play stupid," said Tumblebrutus, "You're just insulting our intelligence by doing that."

"Doing what?" said Admetus.

Pouncival took out a large bag from one part of the TSE-1 and showed it to Admetus. It was the same bag that contained his costume. Pouncival and Tumblebrutus had dug it up earlier that morning and placed it in the car trunk beforehand.

When Pouncival saw the shock in Admetus' eyes, he smirked and handed him the bag, saying "The jig's up, 'Metus. We know who you are."

Admetus had a look of worry across his face, as if everything he had worked for was now in danger of collapsing.

When Tumblebrutus and Pouncival noticed his worry, they wanted for him to be calm.

"Don't worry, we're the only ones who know about this," Tumble assured him.

"You have our word; we won't tell anyone else about this," Pounce added in, "But on one condition: we want you to tell us everything regarding it."

Admetus looked down at his costume, and back up at his two friends. He could not blame them for being curious, but that did not mean he had to like the idea of telling them everything about his nighttime work. However, they left him with little choice.

He sighed and stated "Very well, guys. I'll tell you everything."

**Review, please? What do you think of these Americans? They will play an important role in the storyline.**


	14. Multiple Conspiracies

At that same time back in Hampton, Roshedam and Ralpharite were packing up for their trip to London. They wanted to travel lightly, so they each only brought a backpack and a belt. Their belts contained certain weapons and tools mostly as precautionary measures. Their backpacks contained their passes, some provisions, and other equipment.

The two of them had spent the previous day looking over the directions that had been given to them, as well as preparing for the meeting with the founder in general.

When the two of them were ready to leave, they said their farewells to the other members of their group.

Roshedam embraced Kingsley and Scurtena firmly, being mindful of the latter's abdomen.

"Come back soon, Daddy," said Kingsley, looking up at his father with a look of pure affection and innocence in his eyes.

"I will, Kings, I promise," Roshedam assured his young son.

Scurtena kissed her mate's cheek and whispered in his ear "Don't do anything stupid."

Roshedam scoffed and stated "I'll try my best."

Ralpharite stepped up to them and patted Roshedam on the back. He told Scurtena "Don't you worry about a thing. I'll keep an eye on him at all times, Scurt."

"Thanks, Ralph," she smirked.

Ralpharite felt something cold and metal tap his shoulder. He looked over it and saw Victor standing behind him with his hook resting on his elbow.

"I just want to wish you good luck," he told his friend, "London's become a dangerous place ever since we were last there."

"Don't worry, Victor," commented Ralpharite, "We'll manage."

The red and white tabby and the yellow and brown tom soon set off. They travelled a few miles east until they reached the Hampton Court railway station in Molesey. Once they were there, they got on a train that would take them directly to the London Waterloo Station. They made sure to get in an empty train car so that no humans would see them.

After the train departed, the two toms got comfortable.

Ralpharite leaned back in his seat and went over their plan in his head. Roshedam took the notebook Commander Thogren had given them out of his backpack and looked through it once more.

Ralph looked at his friend out of the corner of his eye and remarked "Is there anything in there we haven't already discussed?"

"I don't think so," replied Roshedam as he leafed through the pages, "There was just something we skipped that really caught my interest. Ah, here it is!"

Ralpharite turned to him and asked "What's it about?"

Roshedam briefly looked over the subject before stating "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure. This whole section talks about a 'mysterious apparition' that lurks the city at night."

"Only at night?" said Ralph.

"Yes, it never comes out during the day," answered Rosh, "There is very little information about this apparition; only that it has flashing red eyes and that it attacks anyone that really does wrong."

Ralpharite studied the section of the notebook with his eyes and said "It also states quite clearly that the apparition must be a cat. I guess that greatly narrows down the probabilities of what it is."

"That would make sense," said Roshedam, "However, I'm still curious as to what motivates this apparition to do what it does. It calls itself 'The Great Rumpus Cat,' but no one is even certain if that is its real name."

"Based on the limited amount of detail, it would appear as though this section was written very recently," noted Ralpharite, gazing at the notebook's content, "That suggests that the apparition has not been around for very long."

"That certainly seems to be the case," Roshedam agreed, "But perhaps we should keep an eye out for it. Who knows? Maybe we'll encounter it and learn its motivations."

"That's a possibility," said Ralpharite, "But for now, let's just focus on the mission."

…

Several times I have brought up the commander of the Siamese fleet, Mouveilyr. Even if you have read the fanfic in which I introduced him ("The Boatswain), you do not know that much about him. Perhaps now would be a good time to discuss his backstory.

Mouveilyr was raised as the average Siamese cat living in London was raised. His father was a security officer and his mother was a scientist, both serving in the Siamese fleet. The two of them took pride in their only son. Once he came of age, they involuntarily enlisted him in the Siamese fleet, as was custom for the Siamese living in London.

Mouveilyr proved to be a very promising officer, and he quickly rose through the ranks. After twenty months of working in the fleet, he took a fellow officer as his mate and had three sons with her: Filvaro, Joreng, and Waelik. All three of them eventually enlistened in the Siamese fleet.

After thirty months' worth of service in the fleet, Mouveilyr's aptitude was recognized by Genghis, the commander of the fleet at that time. After a few weeks of evaluating his career, Genghis made Mouveilyr his third top ranking officer in the entire fleet, behind two other cats named Nihaar and Unbedim.

Eight months before the present day, Genghis launched a plan to assassinate his top rival: Growltiger the Bravo Cat. Growltiger had been the most hated enemy of all Siamese cats for almost five years ever since he killed one of their most beloved sailors. However, because of all his power and influence, Growltiger proved to be very hard to kill.

The assassination plot began when the Siamese intelligence started pursuing one of Growltiger's old allies, an officer named Baltrow. Another month went by and the Siamese finally found a way for them to make an assassination attempt on Growltiger's life.

Genghis had Nihaar and four volunteers to follow Baltrow to a meeting he had with Growltiger. One of the volunteers was Waelik, Mouveilyr's youngest son. Mouveilyr was a little uncertain of letting his youngest go on such a dangerous yet important mission, but Waelik assured him that he would be alright.

The assassination attempt failed. Nihaar was the only one who came back alive. The three volunteers other than Waelik were killed directly at the meeting, and Waelik was tortured and interrogated by the Bravo Cat's crew for over an hour. He told them nothing, so they had him walk the plank.

Mouveilyr was devastated by his son's death. He swore to get vengeance against Growltiger's crew.

Another month went by. The night of Growltiger's Last Stand, Mouveilyr got his revenge.

Most of Growltiger's crew had been attending a celebration at Hampton Court. The rest were left to watch over the ship. Very few of them made it off alive after the assault.

Both Nihaar and Unbedim were killed at Growltiger's Last Stand. Naturally, Mouveilyr was quickly promoted to Genghis' top-ranking official in the fleet.

However, the first order he had been given in his new position proved to be very difficult. Genghis had ordered Mouveilyr to go to the celebration at Hampton Court and fire two volleys of arrows into the courtyard in effort to eliminate more of Growltiger's crew.

Mouveilyr was shocked by this order. Not that he had any problem with eliminating Growltiger's crewmembers, but there were scores of innocent civilian cats there, as well. Mouveilyr felt that he could not bring himself to kill so many innocent people for such a cause.

However, he quickly changed his mind when Genghis started to subtly threaten Filvaro and Joreng. Mouveilyr was already troubled by the loss of one of his sons; the loss of another would have been too much for him to bear. So he went through with Genghis' orders, even though he was incredibly reluctant. Sixty-nine cats died at Hampton Court; only twenty-six were members of Growltiger's crew.

A week after this, Genghis went undercover in Macavity's organization as one of thirteen henchcats whose services he had given to the Hidden Paw. Mouveilyr was expected to run the fleet in his absence.

After Genghis was killed by Grumbuskin around three months later, Mouveilyr found that he was actually in charge himself.

He never expected to take his former commander's place, but he had to assume the responsibility upon hearing the news of his death.

Overtime, Mouveilyr's power started to take over his mind. He did not abuse his authority, but he did relish in it. He also was no longer concerned if innocent people got hurt or even killed in the fleet's operations.

However, his morality did not die completely. His morality was passed on through his genes.

Mouveilyr's two surviving sons – Filvaro and Joreng – were both good officers in the fleet. Filvaro served on a warship. He had killed several of Growltiger's allies on his own. He also had a mate and two kittens. Like his father, he felt no pity for innocent cats that got involved in the Siamese operations.

Joreng, on the other hand, did felt pity. He also had a mate, but did not see her as much. Joreng had originally been stationed on a ship that assaulted other ships outside the fleet and captured their crews. He served as a security guard on that ship.

When he saw how his own people were causing the prisoners to endure so much suffering, he felt a twinge of pain and guilt stirring up inside of him. To see so many innocent people in such great anguish tormented him.

After many weeks of seeing this, Joreng decided that he had had enough. So he put in a request for transfer. His request was granted, and he was reassigned to one of the Siamese laboratories. The laboratory he was assigned to was the one that held the American sailors prisoner.

After a week of seeing the other guards and the scientists torture their prisoners, he decided right then that he would do something about it all. He made a vow that he would help the Americans escape.

He knew full well that escaping from a high-security Siamese lab was very difficult to accomplish, even with inside help. But he managed to make it work.

The Americans were never allowed outside their cells for anything over than the experiments. They had two bathrooms – one on either side of the room – but they were never allowed out for anything else. So someone always brought them their meals three times a day.

Joreng volunteered for "meal bringer" many times, as most of his colleagues felt uncomfortable being alone with a group of angry, genetically-engineered Americans. After a few times of bringing them their meals, he tried to talk to their Captain.

Initially, the Captain would not even look at him. However, Joreng could be very stubborn at times. After coming back and trying to make conversation repeatedly, Jonathan decided to listen.

When Joreng told Jonathan that he was going to try to get him and his crew out of the lab, the American Captain simply laughed and dismissed this idea.

However, the injections Jonathan and his crew had received made them stronger, faster, and more intelligent.

Edolseer became so intelligent in interpreting facial expressions that he could actually tell whether or not a person was telling the truth based on certain details in their countenances.

Eventually, after studying Joreng's face very closely whenever he talked, he was convinced that the young Siamese soldier was actually telling the truth. So Jonathan finally began to believe Joreng.

Joreng provided him and his crew with information about the upper levels of the laboratory, and he began to work out an escape plan for them. This proved to be a lot easier once he had the Americans' cooperation.

When he was on guard duty during the experiments, he would communicate with the "test subject" via the usage of Morse code. He would tap on the wall with his claws, and the test subject would tap on the table with his/her claws. This allowed them to communicate without the risk of being discovered by the other guards and the scientists.

Joreng even managed to convince his mate to see things his way. So she promised to aid him in his efforts to liberate the Americans in any way she could.

Joreng did not need to worry about being discovered by his fellow officers; he was very good at covering up his tracks.

After many weeks of interacting with the Americans in secrecy, they were finally ready to begin their great escape.

…

Back in the present day, while Roshedam and Ralpharite were on the train, Griddlebone had stepped outside of the group's hideout for some fresh air. Victor had noticed that she did this a lot, but he did not make anything of it.

Griddlebone went to another abandoned apartment on the street and climbed inside a second story window. Inside this room, there was a great deal of equipment. At the front of the equipment were a webcam and a microphone.

Griddlebone had been using this equipment to contact with Macavity and keep him apprised of the group's activities. She logged onto the computer and contacted him.

A few moments later, the Bravo Cat appeared on screen and asked her somewhat nonchalantly "What is it?"

"Two members of the group are making their way to London by train," she reported, "They plan to meet up with the founder of something called 'The Siamese Resistance.'"

"Ah, so the rumors are true," stated the Hidden Paw, "All this time, I did not believe that the Resistance was real."

"It would appear as though it IS real," she said, "Ralpharite and Roshedam should be arriving at the London Waterloo Station in approximately a half-hour."

"Very well," said Macavity, grinning wickedly, "I'll send them a little greeting."

Griddlebone also grinned wickedly and cut the communications line. She shut down the computer and went back outside. She headed back to the hideout, feeling that she had already gotten enough "fresh air" for one day.

…

Back at the junkyard in London, Admetus had just finished telling Tumblebrutus and Pouncival about the previous night's events. Thus concluded his long explanation of his activities as The Great Rumpus Cat.

Both of the knockabout cats were stunned. Their elder friend was a very private person, but he moonlighted as the world's first cat crime fighter in secrecy. They found themselves admiring him for all his work.

What really caught Tumblebrutus' attention was his business with Geraldine.

"What's all this about a Siamese Resistance?" queried the white and brown tom.

"It's a covert organization of cats that are plotting to overthrow the Siamese domain on the Thames," Admetus explained, "I did not even know it existed until last night when I spoke with Geraldine. She provided me with a lot of information regarding the Resistance. She also helped me clarify a few things about recent events."

"Such as?" said Pouncival.

"Macavity has been hiring Pollicles to seek out all the strays in the city," Admetus expounded, "It is unknown what happens to most of the strays, but a percentage of them are taken away by the Siamese fleet."

There was a short interval of silence between the three of them. Then Tumblebrutus asked "Will you be going back to see Geraldine again tonight?"

"That is my plan," Admetus replied, "Unfortunately, I have a lot more work to do in other parts of the city. So I cannot stay there too long. There's a human drug deal going on around that time, but it's over a mile away from Ratcliff. I'll need time to find a human police officer and lead him to the dealing at just the right time."

"How do you know all this?" asked Pouncival.

"I have my resources," was all Admetus said, "I just do a little investigation on suspicious places of residence and make notes of certain sights, smells, or sounds. After doing a little research, I can draw my conclusions."

"Damn, that's pretty good," commented Pounce.

"Thank you," Admetus remarked, "Unfortunately, even with all my resources, I cannot be in two places at once. It is imperative that I stop that drug deal before it is over, but lives are at stake in the Siamese Resistance, so I must attend that meeting with Geraldine, too. So unless I can find a way to get both things done at once, I have a serious problem on my paws."

Tumblebrutus sat thinking, and he quickly got an idea. He looked up at Admetus and offered "Maybe I could help you out."

"You?" said Admetus in slight confusion.

"Sure, think about it," Tumble expounded, "I once served on board Growltiger's ship. Growltiger was the sworn enemy of the Siamese. I figure that if this 'Geraldine' is really opposed to the Siamese, I'm sure she'll bring herself to trust a colleague of Growltiger."

"Tumble, you were discharged from his crew," Admetus reminded him.

"I know that," Tumblebrutus stated, "But I still have my Boatswain medallion. If I show it to Geraldine, I'm certain she'll take my word as a colleague of Growltiger. Besides, I want to see the Siamese fall as much as anyone else out there."

"Wait a minute," Pouncival interrupted, "If Tumble's going, then I'm coming along, too."

Tumblebrutus turned to his brother and told him "Pounce, this is serious business."

"I'm well-aware of that," stated the grey, white, and brown tom, "But don't think I'm going to let you go on another chance for adventure without me. I, too, want the Siamese domain to be purged. Even if all I can do is carry information, I want to help. I mean, wouldn't two correspondents be able to carry more information than just one?"

Tumblebrutus shrugged and said to the older tom "I guess it's up to you, 'Metus. Are you going to let one, both, or neither of us become involved in this operation?"

Admetus sat seriously considering his options. Both of his friends were young, but they definitely understood the significance of the situation. One of them actually hated the Siamese fleet with a burning passion; the other one was determined to help his friends.

After thinking for almost five minutes, Admetus told them "I'm convinced you guys can help me. But first, there are a few conditions we have to establish. One: I want both of you to respect Geraldine. Two: I don't want you to demand for more information than she provides you with. Three: I'll be staying at her place for a few minutes. If I become convinced that you two can remain with her on your own and behave like gentletoms, I'll agree to leave you there."

"You have our word, 'Metus," stated Pouncival, "We just want to help. We'll behave ourselves."

"Good," said Admetus, "Now we just need to make a few minor arrangements."

…

Back at the Siamese laboratory with the American prisoners, it was time for breakfast.

The prisoners heard the outer door of their cell open and someone rolled in a cart. Then the outer door was closed and the inner door was opened.

A young black, white, and grey Siamese tom stepped inside. He had trays of prepared meals on the cart. He started to distribute them throughout the crowd.

Most of the time, the Americans would glare hostilely at whoever gave them their meals. But not this tom. He was the only one that they could trust.

This was Joreng.

Vecinha opened up her tray. Inside were some cold scrambled eggs and cold ham, along with a day-old biscuit. At least the food was somewhat decent.

"I notice that they stopped putting forks in the meal trays," she remarked.

"Probably because some of us could kill the Siamese with a fork," theorized Edolseer.

"But they were made of plastic," Vecinha pointed out.

"It's still possible to kill someone with a plastic fork it you're strong enough," Kylam pointed out, "In fact, I'll bet I could kill someone with a plastic spoon."

While the three of them talked, Jonathan stopped Joreng and whispered in his ear "We've all agreed; it is time to start the plan."

Joreng smiled and said "I'll glad you've finally decided to get out of here. You do know I hate to see all of you suffer."

"We're flattered," said Edolseer truthfully. He reached to take his tray, but he suddenly felt a twinge of pain in his chest. He grasped it and moaned in light pain.

"Are you alright, Edolseer?" asked Kylam.

"Yeah, I'm fine," replied the silver and cream tom, "I'm still… recovering from the acid test."

Sometimes after receiving injections, the Siamese would conduct various tests on their test subjects. One of these tests was the 'acid test,' in which they would pour a very small amount of corrosive acid on the subject's chest and see how much damage it would cause. The goal was for the acid to just run off the person's body without eating through their flesh. If it turned out successful, then they would have strengthened the person's skin exponentially.

"How much of your skin did it eat through?" asked Kylam.

"Not much, I'd say just one lair of cells on one spot of my chest," answered Edolseer, "But they're still not satisfied with the results."

"Makes me glad I just recently passed that test," commented Vecinha, "Even acetic acid couldn't eat through my skin."

Jonathan asked for silence as he started to discuss the escape plan with Joreng.

"It's too dangerous for all of us to attempt escape at the moment, so we'll only be sending out one person," explained the Captain, "At seven o'clock tonight, Vecinha will be taken away for her next injection. We've decided that she's the one that will get out."

"Alright, I'll make sure that I'm one of the guards looking out for her," Joreng assured the American Captain, "When no one is looking, I'll slip her something that will allow her to pick the lock on her restraints while she's strapped onto the table. But we'll need careful timing. There's certain to be at least two other guards in that room, as well as a number of scientists."

"Where should I go once I'm out of this building?" inquired Vecinha.

"Do you have a high-level access code?" asked Joreng, "Even I don't have one, so I don't know if I'll be of much help there."

"Yes, Kylam managed to learn one from one of the guards earlier," stated Jonathan, "Thanks to him, we all know one now."

"Alright then," said Joreng, talking primarily to Vecinha, "Once you're out of the experimentation room, head to the West end of the building. You can get outside from there. Once you're out, follow the river for a few miles until you come to a house with two broken windows in the back. That's the house my mate has chosen for your sanctuary. I've instructed her to expect you at any time, so she'll be waiting for you."

"Forgive me for asking this, but are you certain you can trust her?" enquired Edolseer.

Joreng glared at Edolseer and responded "I trust her as you trust me."

"That's all we need to know," said Jonathan, "Alright, thank you for your help, Joreng."

"It's my pleasure, Captain," said the young Siamese tom, "It won't be long until you're all out."

With that, Joreng took the cart out of the room and shut the inner cell door behind him.

**Review, please. I had a feeling that this chapter may have turned out to be a little vague or confusing, or perhaps a little rushed. What do you think? If I was too direct or too ambiguous, just let me know and I'll try my best to clarify everything for you.**


	15. Breaking Out

**Note: I may have to bump up the rating to M after this chapter, mostly due to some strong graphic violence about three-quarters in.**

At the London Waterloo Station, the train from the Hampton Court railway line arrived in Travelcard Zone 6. When the train came to a full stop and the doors opened, Ralpharite and Roshedam exited as quickly as possible from their car.

They wanted to be seen by as few humans as possible, seeing as how cats wearing backpacks and belts were not an everyday sight for humans to see.

They talked to each other as they walked to the front entrance of the Train Station. Just as they stepped outside, Ralpharite looked directly in front of himself.

"Oh, shit," he muttered.

"What?" asked Roshedam, "What's wrong?"

Ralpharite did not answer. He just grabbed Roshedam by his shoulders and pulled him off to an alleyway as fast as he could. Once they were both lying in the ground in the alleyway, Rosh asked "Ralph, what the hell are you doing? What are you so uptight?"

"Sorry about that, Rosh," stated Ralpharite, "But we had to get out of there as quickly as possible."

"Why?" queried Roshedam.

Ralpharite pointed to the street. When Roshedam looked, he saw a group of Siamese cats approaching the train station. They were walking on all fours, but they appeared to be carrying weapons underneath their chests.

"This isn't possible," Roshedam stated in disbelief, "There is no way the Siamese could have known we were coming."

"Well, someone must have tipped them off," Ralpharite concluded, "What time did the directions say the meeting was?"

"I believe it is tonight at nine o'clock," answered Roshedam as he stood up and brushed himself off.

"Well, I suggest that we keep a low profile in the city until then," Ralpharite decided, "If the Siamese spot us, we'll be in a great deal of trouble."

"Sounds like sage advice to me," commented Roshedam, "But the Siamese are not our only problem. There are also the Pollicles and Macavity's spies. Plus the apparition that was mentioned in the notebook."

"I don't think the apparition is anything we really have to worry about," stated Ralpharite, "The other things you mentioned are."

Ralpharite took off his backpack and fished out the directions to the founder's location. "It would appear as though the directions start here at the train station and end somewhere along the Thames. It appears to end at a marina."

"Well, I think we should put off going near the river as long as possible," suggested Roshedam, "The Siamese are most likely swarming all over the Thames right now."

"Excellent idea," Ralpharite agreed, "But I still want to cover as much ground as possible right now."

Roshedam found this to be an acceptable strategy. The two toms waited until the Siamese soldiers were gone, and then they ran as quickly as possible through the streets. Ralpharite ran up front, carrying the directions in his front paw. He called them out to Roshedam behind him, and the two of them covered several blocks over the next hour. When they reached the halfway point, they decided to stop in a nearby alley. They would wait there until they had the cover of night to proceed any further.

…

Several hours later, Lieutenant Commander Hoagemont was in his quarters at Macavity's warehouse. He was sitting at a desk, using a computer terminal.

He was compiling a message to inform his commanding officer, Mouveilyr, about the events in the warehouse.

Mouveilyr was already aware of much of the content in the message, as the previous ambassador had informed him of everything that went on in the warehouse. But there were some notable differences from the last one. One of the main differences was how Grizabella had shown up. Macavity was holding a former member of the Jellicle Tribe prisoner. Not just any Jellicle, but his own mother!

A few minutes after sending out the message, there was a knock on Hoagemont's door.

"Come in," he called out.

The door opened and Oswald stepped inside.

"Good afternoon, sir," said the henchcat, "Macavity wanted me to ask you if your quarters are satisfactory, and if there is anything you require."

"'Satisfactory?'" the Siamese ambassador scoffed and leaned back in his chair, resting on his two front paws. He looked around the room and remarked "These quarters are wonderful! They're certainly a far cry from the cramped lodgings of a warship."

"Only important guests and my Boss's top agents get quarters such as these," Oswald informed him, "The rest of us – which happens to be the majority – share rooms together in groups of five or six. For us, it all depends on rank. The higher you rise, the more privacy you're allowed."

"That is quite an effective system," commented Hoagemont, "By the way, in answer to your second question, there is nothing I require at the moment. However, I would like to ask you a few questions."

"I'm off-duty, sir, so take all the time you need to ask them," Oswald told him, leaning against the door rail, "Of course, I cannot tell you anything regarding my Boss's personal life… Not that he would broadcast it to his grunts."

"Relax, I wasn't going to ask about his personal life," Hoagemont assured the henchcat, "There are just a few things I was wondering. First of all, might I ask when that queen from Room C – I believe her name was Paulina – will be transferred to my quarters?"

"Soon, sir," Oswald replied, "She is currently being evaluated by some of our top physicians. They're making sure that she is not too mentally or physically ill to be in the same room as you. They're also evaluating her for certain other things."

"Why?" queried Hoagemont, "Does she have any history of violent outbursts or emotional instability?"

"No, this evaluation is merely standard procedure," answered the henchcat, "I saw the physicians conduct part of the process myself; nothing seems wrong with her. She doesn't talk much."

"A desirable trait in the typical queen," remarked Hoagemont, resting his hind feet on his desk.

"On that subject, there are a few precautionary measures that you must take if you actually intend to share a room with a concubine," Oswald remarked, "These are not optional; it is required that you follow them."

"Very well," agreed Hoagemont, "Hit me with them."

"First, if you keep weapons in this room, you must store them in a locked cabinet or somewhere else where she cannot find, reach, or acquire them," Oswald expounded, "She may look harmless, but them quiet types can turn out to be very deadly."

"Understandable," Hoagemont nodded his head, "Say, that reminds me of the second thing I was going to ask you. I was wearing a belt of weapons when I first entered this building. I was asked by the guards up front to hand it over before I met your Boss; I complied. I know that handing over one's weapons before meeting with the Hidden Paw is also standard procedure, but I would like to ask when or if they will be returned to me."

"They'll be returned to you shortly," Oswald guaranteed him, "They were required to go through an inspection first. Now that they've been cleared, you may retrieve them at your convenience. You'll find them in the arsenal."

"I'll make a note to stop by there later," stated Hoagemont, "Continue with the precautionary measures."

"Alright then," agreed Oswald, "Second, whenever you leave your quarters and that queen is still in here, always make certain that you lock the door from the outside. And whenever you go to sleep at night, lock the door from the inside. Hide the key somewhere where she cannot acquire it. Security in this place is really tight, but there's always the slim chance that someone will get out."

"Once again, understandable," commented Hoagemont.

"Third, whenever you leave the room and the queen is **with **you, you must take charge of her at all times," said Oswald, "Because she's been transferred to your room, she's your responsibility. Never let her out of your sight if you let her outside this room."

"I cannot imagine why I **would **take her out of this room, but I'll still keep that in mind," said Hoagemont.

"Fourth and final rule," stated Oswald, "Though this one is the only optional rule: try your hardest not to kill her. However, if you have to act in self-defense or if you just feel impulsively violent… well, let's just say it would suck to be her."

Hoagemont chuckled and remarked "That's an excellent point. Now that we have that matter settled, here's my next question: When will your Boss be ready to discuss the matter of the most recent blood samples he received from my fleet?"

"Our chemists are looking them over at the moment," was Oswald's response, "Once they are finished, he'll be ready to discuss them with you."

"He'll be pleased to know that the scientists in my fleet are making rapid progress," said Hoagemont.

"I'll take your word for it," remarked Oswald. There was a short pause between the two of them. Then Oswald asked "Is there anything else you'd like to know?"

"Just one more thing," said Hoagemont as he sat up straight and turned so that the whole front of his body was facing the henchcat, "Is it possible for me to see Grumbuskin?"

Oswald smirked and replied "My Boss had a feeling you would ask that. Later tonight, he'll take you to see our special guest. I think I'll be on duty then, so I'll probably be joining you."

"So, you're only Macavity's bodyguard for part of the day?" assumed the Siamese ambassador.

"Correct," nodded the henchcat in response, "He has eight bodyguards in total. We each guard him in consecutive three-hour intervals. My shift is from eleven at night to two in the morning."

"I see," stated Hoagemont. He leaned back in his chair again and stated while starring at the monitor to his computer "Thank you for your time, Oswald. I require nothing else at the moment."

"In that case, sir, may I invite you to lunch?" offered Oswald.

The Siamese cat turned back to his visitor and asked him in partial confusion "What do you mean?"

"My Boss made it very clear to me and my colleagues that he wants you to feel welcomed here during your stay," explained the henchcat, "I was on my way to have lunch with some of my coworkers when he asked me to check up on you. Would you care to join me?"

Hoagemont shrugged and replied "I suppose I may as well. If Mouveilyr is going to have me here for the next several weeks, I may as well get to know the people I'm living with."

After shutting down his computer, stepping outside, and locking his door, Hoagemont followed Oswald to the cafeteria.

…

At seven o'clock that night, down the river, a breakout conspiracy was about to begin.

In the basement of the Siamese laboratory building holding the Americans, Captain Jonathan and his crewmates were waiting for some scientists and guards to arrive.

"I sure hope this works," stated Kylam.

"It HAS to work," said Edolseer, "If it doesn't, we're all lost."

"You don't know that!" said Kylam, "Besides, I still think it's odd how Joreng seems to be the only Siamese cat in this building that is not cold-hearted, sadistic, or merciless. I'm still uncertain that we can trust him."

"We **have **to trust him, Kylam!" Jonathan yelled, "If you can't trust him now, how will you EVER come to trust him? He's risking his life to save us!"

"The Captain's right," Inaleny spoke out. This was the second time she had spoken since she had been abused by the guards the previous day. She was still very weak, but there was firmness in her voice. She said "It's thanks to Joreng that we even know that our people are looking for us. Once Vecinha has found Joreng's mate, she can lead her to them. Then they can get us out of this nightmare!"

Everyone turned to Vecinha, as if she was their only hope. In more than a few ways, she was, but she did not like the idea of that.

After a few moments of silence, she looked around at her crewmates and told them "I won't let you guys down. I'll find Joreng's mate, and I'll find our people. I'll get you all out of here alive. We will not die here in England. We will return to America! We will go home!"

The other Americans applauded her for her determination.

A few minutes later, they heard the door that accessed the hallway outside the cell open up. They heard someone enter the hallway before that door closed again. Next, the outer door to the cell was opened and closed after someone stepped inside.

"Vecinha, come forward!" a voice called out from the other side of the inner door, "Everyone else, stay clear of the door!"

Vecinha turned to her comrades and looked around at them. All their fates would soon rest in her paws. She was not looking forward to having this massive responsibility on her shoulders, but she would go through with it if it meant saving her colleagues.

"Captain?" she said in uncertainty, as if she was waiting for him to say something.

He stepped forward and pulled her into a firm embrace. She returned it affectionately. When they came apart, he gestured for her to go to the door, saying "I know you'll make it."

"Wish me luck," she whispered before turning back to the door, "I promise you, guys, as soon as I find help, I'll come back for you."

"You can do it, Vecinha," Jonathan told her, "I have faith in you."

Vecinha nodded and walked over to the inner door of the cell.

The door opened and two guards were waiting on the other side. Both of them were armed with cat-sized rifles. They were pointing them straight at her, as if she was about to attack them.

Vecinha just put her paws up and entered into the small space between the inner and outer doors to the cell. One of the guards sealed off the inner door while the other examined her for anything suspicious.

Once that guard was finished with his examination, he told his partner "She's clean."

The other guard went over to the outer door and opened it up via a control panel. Once the outer door was opened, he gestured for Vecinha to step through.

She did this obediently, holding her front paws behind her head while the two guards followed her out.

There was a long hallway on the other side of this door. There were six other cats in this hallway. They were standing around a movable table that had a built-in restraint system. The table was curved at a forty-five degree angle.

Four of them were scientists. The other two were guards. One of the guards was Joreng. The other was… him. The guard Vecinha hated and dreaded the most. The guard that had taken her innocence away from her forcibly and used her in the same way seven more times.

Vecinha glared at the cat with an expression conveying the utmost contempt and hatred. He just smirked and stated flatly "Up on the table, sweetheart."

Vecinha complied and laid down on top of the slanted table as she had done so many times before. Once she was on, each of the scientists fastened one of the wrist and ankle restraints, strapping her down.

Once they confirmed Vecinha was secured, one of the scientists used a latch on the underside of the table to lower it so that the surface ran parallel to the ground.

"Let's get a move on," said one of the scientists.

The four scientists placed their front paws on the table and started moving it towards the door that led out of the basement. The four guards each stood at one of the corners of the table, keeping their shotguns at the ready.

When they reached the door, one of the scientists entered his access code and the door slid open. Then they continued their way to an elevator. They used the elevator to make their way up to the first floor.

While they were in the elevator, Joreng was standing directly to the right of Vecinha's right paw. When no one was looking, he slipped a paper clip into her paw. He had bent it beforehand to give it the format of a lock pick. While it was a little crude, it was certainly sufficient enough for her to use it without anyone noticing.

Once the group arrived on the first floor, they went through a labyrinth of hallways. Occasionally they passed by a guard on patrol.

Finally, they arrived at a room near the center of the building. Another armed Siamese was standing guard at the door. He held the door open to allow the scientists to roll the table inside. One of the four guards remained at the door with the guard that had already been there. The other three entered behind the scientists. Two of them were Joreng and the guard that had abused Vecinha.

The room on the other side of the door was full of various kinds of equipment. There was also another scientist sitting in a chair, studying a clipboard.

When the scientist looked up and saw the others bringing in Vecinha, she stood up and placed her clipboard to the side.

"Alright, bring her over here," she instructed them.

The surface Vecinha was restrained to on the table was not the actual table. It was a long, metal board that had been attached to the table beforehand. The four scientists unfastened the locks that held the board to the table and lifted the board into the air with Vecinha still strapped down onto it. They transferred the board to a counter in the center of the room.

"Is she secure?" queried the main scientist.

One of the guards looked over Vecinha and responded "Yes, ma'am."

"Then activate the backup restraining system," ordered the main scientist.

The guard nodded and took a necklace made of tiny metal beads off his neck. A key was attached to this necklace. On the side of the counter there was a panel with a keyhole in it. The guard inserted the key into the hole and turned it clockwise.

As a result, Vecinha's restraints were reinforced electronically via the connection between the board and the counter. Because she and her crewmates were exhibiting signs of a tremendous increase in strength, the electronic backup system had been deemed mandatory to ensure that they could not break free of the bonds by the use of brute strength.

The guard at the panel removed his key and put the necklace back around his neck.

The main scientist walked over to the head of the counter and smiled down at Vecinha. This smile contained no sympathy; it was the type of smile that portrayed sadism.

"If it isn't my favorite patient," remarked the scientist, "How are you today, Vecinha?"

"Oh, I'm great, Dr. Blairen" the restrained queen answered sarcastically, "I'm so great that I feel like I could just rip someone's lungs out right now."

"How nice that you're in a good mood," stated Blairen in an equally sarcastic tone.

No one spoke for a few moments as the scientists and guards took their posts around the room.

"I've got her file up, Doctor," one of the scientists announced, "It seems she's doing reasonably well with the injections she's received."

"Excellent," commented Blairen, "Prepare her next injection. Then we'll run the usual tests."

"Yes, ma'am," responded the scientist as he went off to mix some chemicals together in a certain manner.

Vecinha managed to position her lock pick right on the lock of her wrist restraint and went to work. However, she knew she needed to distract the other people in the room, lest they spot the lock pick. So she decided to strike up a conversation with Dr. Blairen.

"Doctor, if I ask you a question, would you answer it?" said Vecinha.

"That would depend on the nature of the question," Blairen stated, "Ask it and I will respond as best I can."

"Do you ever intend to release me and my comrades?" queried Vecinha.

There was a short silence in that room as Blairen considered her possible answers. In the end, she said "Why in the world would we do that? We'd be letting go of some of our finest test subjects."

"Is that all we are to you?" shot Vecinha, "Just some fucking objects for you to experiment on and dispose of at your leisure?"

"No, no, no, certainly not," Blairen shook her head as she and another of the scientists looked over Vecinha's records, "You and your associates are everything to us. You are the future. You will be responsible for our people's vast prosperity!"

"At what cost?" shouted Vecinha, "Why do innocent people have to die just so your people can become… whatever the fuck you want them to become?"

"We needed guinea pigs," Blairen tried to reason, "Of course, no one would volunteer for this, so we got our test subjects through the next best way possible. We're sacrificing a few to save many."

"I fail to see how that justifies what you're doing," remarked Vecinha.

"Vecinha, you do at least have something to be grateful for," stated Blairen, "I mean, these injections have made you and your colleagues stronger, faster, more agile, and much more intelligent."

"That is true," Vecinha drily admitted, "But we'd give all those characteristics up in return for our freedom."

"Is it really that bad?" said Blairen.

"No, it's worse!" Vecinha responded, "It's a lot fucking worse than you realize. I have been in this hellhouse for months. In that time, I have been tortured, raped, and beaten repeatedly."

"I can understand how you'd view these experiments as torture sessions and beatings," said Blairen, "But how – pray tell – have you been raped?"

"Why don't you ask **him**?" Vecinha growled hostilely, gesturing towards the tom that had abused her multiple times before that day.

Blairen looked over at that guard and asked "What does she mean?"

The guard smirked and said with a note of pride in his voice "If you must know, Doc, I've made this queen my bitch."

A few of the other people in the room chuckled, including Joreng. He simply chuckled so that he would not blow his cover. Truthfully he was disgusted by his colleague's behavior.

"Eight times, and I repeat eight times, I have been VIOLATED by that monstrosity standing behind me!" Vecinha yelled, "Of course, no one ever does anything to stop him. In fact, the last time he did it, the other guards cheered him on!"

Blairen looked back and forth between Vecinha and the guard. She said to the latter "You've sexually assaulted her eight times, and yet she doesn't seem to be suffering any major psychological damage."

There was a pause, and then Blairen burst out laughing. After ten seconds of laughing, she said to the guard "Either you're doing something wrong, or she has a very rigid mind!"

The guard snickered and said "Next time, I'll try harder. I'm sure I'll coax a difference in mental behavior out of her somehow."

Blairen shrugged and said to the guard "I want her focused when she gets her next injection. Your presence may distract her, so until then, I want you to stand guard outside the door. Have one of the others out there take your place."

The guard nodded and went to the door. He pressed the Open/Close button and walked out. One of the other guards stepped inside the room just before the door closed again.

Vecinha looked up at Blairen and raised an eyebrow as she remarked "I guess I was wrong about you. You're not **entirely **barbaric."

"Or maybe you were correct," said Blairen flatly as she and another scientist went to finish preparing Vecinha's next injection, "After all, some would argue that more often than not, things are not always as they seem."

In the past few minutes, Vecinha had been multitasking. She had been talking to Blairen while simultaneously she had been picking the lock on the restraint holding her right front paw.

Just when Blairen turned back to her with the syringe in her paws, Vecinha heard a very slight "click."

One of the scientists cleaned a spot on Vecinha's left arm so that her vein was visible. Blairen then stepped forward with the syringe.

Right before Blairen could sink the needle into Vecinha's arm, a paw grabbed her wrist.

From the angle of her head, she could only see that the paw came from across the table. She looked up a little and saw that the paw belonged to Vecinha.

Blairen stared in terror as she had a grim idea as to what was coming next.

Vecinha smirked and remarked cheekily "You're right, Doc. Things **aren't** always as they seem."

A moment later, Vecinha twisted Blairen's arm into the air and positioned her paw so that it was directly above her head. Then Vecinha forced Blairen's paw to make contact with the elder queen's face. As a result, the needle from the syringe sank directly into Blairen's forehead, killing her almost instantaneously.

Over the next minute, a burst of activity took place in that room. It all happened so quickly, but shall be covered step-by-step in the following paragraphs.

The guard with the necklace was the first person to take action. He approached the counter, raised his gun into the air, and tried to club Vecinha with it. She simply ducked and grabbed him by his throat. She forced him to lie his head down on her stomach and she took his gun with her free paw. With it, she struck him on the back of his head three times. The first blow stunned him, the second blow caused him to start bleeding, and the third blow broke his skull and killed him.

Before anyone else could react, Vecinha took away the guard's necklace and inserted the key into the panel on the side of the counter. She turned it counterclockwise, deactivating the backup power to her restraints.

Now that the electronic components had been disabled in the restraints, Vecinha easily broke free of her bounds, thanks to the unnatural strength the injections had given her.

By then, another of the scientists had been rushing to get a syringe to sedate Vecinha. He ran over to her with the syringe raised in the air.

Moving quickly, Vecinha noticed the tray of utensils to the right of the counter. She picked up a scalpel, and just as the scientist with the sedative approached her, she slashed him right under his face.

A moment later, that scientist dropped the sedative and grasped his throat with both front paws. Vecinha had sliced it open, causing blood to spill out.

Vecinha hopped off the counter and waited for someone else to attack her. One of the scientists threw a punch at her, but she grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back. A sickly "crunching" sound was heard, indicating that she had broken the scientist's arm.

The scientist shrieked in pain as one of the guards aimed his rifle at Vecinha. She noticed this and quickly put the scientist with the broken limb in between herself and that guard.

The guard fired five times; each of the bullets hit the scientist in different places in his chest.

Once the scientist was dead, Vecinha pushed his body towards the shooting guard. The guard lost his balance and fell onto the ground, the scientist's body landing on top of him.

Before the guard could get out from underneath the corpse, Vecinha jumped forward, grabbed him by his head fur, and turned her attention towards the open metal cabinet door to her right. She slammed the guard's head against the side of the cabinet and shut the cabinet door on his head so hard that she practically smashed it in.

One of the two remaining scientists jumped onto Vecinha from behind and tried to force her onto the ground.

Vecinha spotted a flask labeled "Phosphoric Acid" on another counter and reached out for it. Right after picking it up, she threw it over her shoulder and heard a "splashing" sound. The next thing she knew, the scientist released her and shouted in terrible agony.

This scientist shrieked as her face was virtually melted away by the extremely corrosive substance. It did not take long for the acid to eat through her brain cavity and ravage her cerebral cortex. Once that happened, the scientist dropped dead.

The remaining scientist and Joreng in the room worked together to try to defeat Vecinha. The scientist moved in first. She threw one of her fists at Vecinha.

In the span of three seconds, Vecinha dodged the blow, seized the scientist by her shoulders, and swiftly broke her neck.

As soon as the scientist was on the ground, Joreng lowered his weapon and smirked.

"You're quite good at this work," he remarked.

"Thank you," she smirked in return, "Where do I go from here?"

"Head down to the end of the west side of the building," he instructed her, "It's the least heavily-guarded. But remember, you have to knock me out first and handle those other two guards on the outside of the door. Once you're outside, run as fast as you can until you reach the house with the two broken windows in the back. It's about seven miles to the West of this compound, but it's still along the river. Do you remember what I told you to say to my mate when you meet her?"

Vecinha nodded and responded "I'll tell her: 'Greetings, Cathieel. I am Vecinha. The time has come to reunite some lost souls with the people from their homeland.'"

"Make certain you say those words exactly," he told her, "That's the only way she can be certain that it's you and not someone else. Now, you must take me out."

Vecinha agreed and gestured to him to come closer. This Joreng did.

"I'll try to do it as gently as I possibly can," she assured him, "I'd hate to hurt you after all you've done for me and my comrades."

"I understand, but this has to be done," he emphasized, taking a step closer, "Just find that outpost and notify my mate. She'll take you to your people, and they'll get your fellow sailors out of here."

She agreed and asked him "Are you ready for it?"

He nodded willingly and turned around.

Vecinha paused for a moment, contemplating how she could knock Joreng out without seriously injuring him. Then she got an idea.

Vecinha held her two front paws together, raised them high into the air, and landed them hard on the back of Joreng's head.

He dropped his rifle and collapsed to the ground, falling unconscious almost immediately.

Vecinha took a deep breath and walked up to the door. She knocked on it twice, moved off to the side and waited.

The door slid open and the other two guards entered the room.

When the second guard was standing directly in the doorframe, Vecinha slammed her paw on the "Open/Close" button. The door shut so quickly that the second guard did not have time to enter the room completely. When the door closed, it almost slammed shut on his neck.

The second guard gasped for breath as he struggled to free himself from the door.

The first guard turned around to assist his colleague but then Vecinha came out from around the corner and clobbered him in the face with a fire extinguisher.

The first guard collapsed onto the ground, holding his head.

Vecinha turned her attention to the second guard. While he was still stuck in the doorframe, she struck him repeatedly on the head with the fire extinguisher. After about six lethal blows, the second guard was dead.

Vecinha pressed the "Open/Close" button again and the door opened. She dragged the dead guard's body inside with the others. Then she closed the door again.

She turned her attention back to the last remaining guard.

It was him.

It was the tom that had abused her when she was helpless. The tom that haunted her in her nightmares for weeks.

Now she had him at his mercy.

Vecinha smiled wickedly and dropped the fire extinguisher. She picked the guard up by his throat and threw him across the room. He crashed into a cabinet of test tubes.

The guard was now lying in piles of broken glass.

Before he could get up, Vecinha approached him, grabbed him by the throat again, and lifted him into the air. She punched him over and over again until his mouth and nose were bleeding all over.

Then she dropped him to the ground and spat on him.

For a moment, Vecinha was ready to finish him off once and for all. But then her eyes fell across a sharp shard of glass from one of the broken test tubes.

She picked up the shard, kneeled down in front of the guard, and told him "So, you were going to take advantage of me again?"

He was too intimidated to respond. He just stared at her in uncertainty.

"Originally, I planned to kill you, as I killed all your friends here," Vecinha remarked, "However, now that I've got you in this current state, I have something better in mind. Something far worse, and much more humiliating."

"W-what?" was all he could utter.

She leaned in closer and told him "You've already taken my innocence away from me and I can never get it back. But I'm going to make sure you never rob another queen of her innocence ever again!"

With that, Vecinha took the shard of glass and stabbed the tom directly in his… tomhood.

The next thing she knew, the tom was shouted in horrible agony, holding the area between his legs.

Vecinha scoffed, personally enjoying his pain.

After about thirty seconds, she kicked him in the face, knocking him out.

Vecinha spat on the tom again, took his rifle, and ran out of the room.

She quickly ran through the hallways, looking out for sentries along the way. Fortunately for her, she did not encounter anyone else.

She made her way to the door on the West side of the compound; this was the door that led outside.

"I hope to the Everlasting Cat this works," she muttered to herself as she typed in the passcode Kylam had picked up from a guard earlier. She entered nine numbers followed by the "ENTER" button.

The door slid open, presenting Vecinha with a sight she had not seen for months. The outside world.

She was overjoyed to be out of the Siamese laboratory after so long, but knew she had to contain her excitement until she was a safe distance away from the hideout.

She started walking along the pier to make her way to the walkway that ran along the riverside.

Unfortunately for her, she did not notice two guards standing on top of the roof of the compound. One of them happened to notice her and called out "You there! Freeze!"

Vecinha turned around and saw two toms standing on the roof, pointing their guns at her.

She quickly raised her rifle and fired a single shot at one of the guards. Obviously the injections had improved her aim, as well. She managed to shoot the guard straight through the forehead while being over fifty feet away.

The other guard ran before she could shoot him. He made his way to the emergency alarm system on the roof and activated it. The alarms blared loudly as the guard called out "Breakout! We have a breakout!"

Vecinha turned and ran. But she saw more guards approaching her from the East. She raised her rifle and shot three of them through their chests. But then she was forced to take cover. Soon more guards arrived from the West.

Vecinha knew it would not be long until she was surrounded. So she only had one solution to get out of her predicament. She dove out of her cover and jumped into the river. Then she started swimming as fast as she possibly could.

Before the experiments, she could barely swim a foot. But now, she could swim at an alarmingly fast speed.

The guards on the docks tried to shine flashlights at her so they could spot her. A few of them raised their rifles and let loose a few rounds.

One bullet grazed Vecinha in her side. She stopped momentarily to clutch it, but continued to swim. She was forced to dispose of her gun, as it only hindered her.

After a while, she managed to evade the guards, but she decided to remain in the water. She was bleeding in the spot where she had been shot. This wound was not fatal, but it gradually weakened her as she swam on.

After swimming for about two miles, her swimming pace started to decline. After another mile, she was starting to lose her focus. But she still swam on. She kept thinking to herself that she was not going to fail her people. She was going to find Joreng's mate, find her people, and then rescue her crewmates.

She was determined to come through for them

**Review, please! I apologize if this chapter seems a little too long (compared to my previous chapters), but I was really looking forward to writing this one. What did you think of it? Too violent for the story to maintain a T rating? Too profane? Or do you think it can still get away with a T rating? I'd like to know your thoughts!**


	16. Various Bonds

**Note: I know that the past five chapters have been very dark, dramatic, and violent (especially in the case of the last chapter). So I decided to open up this chapter with a certain song to ease down on the tension for a moment. The song itself is "Ride On" by the Irish folk singer Christy Moore. However, it follows the pace of the rendition performed by Ryan Kelly from the Irish singer group Celtic Thunder. If you have not heard Ryan's version of the song, you should.**

**Here's the link: http:/ / www . youtube . com/watch?v=kik4xXftwE8 (Needless to say, you should remove all the spaces.)**

**He's pretty damn good. In fact, I'd say he's my favorite member of the group.**

**By the way, in case you're wondering, the meeting between Ralpharite, Roshedam, and the founder of the Siamese Resistance will take place in the next chapter. This chapter will be more about Macavity's henchcats, as well as a few of his distinct prisoners. Now, on we go!**

Across town, in Macavity's basement, Grizabella and Growltiger were still locked in their cell, sitting together in the dark. Not much had happened since the previous night. In order to pass some time, the two of them told each other about their backstory. Grumbuskin was surprised to discover that Grizabella was Macavity's mother, but because this was not the first astonishing fact he had ever discovered, he quickly accepted that what she told him was the truth.

Grumbuskin told Grizabella about much of his background, including his last mission. The one that took place just before the Siamese had assaulted Growltiger's ship at East Molesey. He even told her about his relationship with Roshedam and how he had discovered it. He felt that it would be somewhat risky to tell someone he hardly knew about such a thing, but for whatever reason, Grumbuskin could bring himself to entrust Grizabella with that information. To that day, only five people other than Grumbuskin knew that he was Roshedam's father. One of them, obviously, was Roshedam. The other four were Ralpharite, Najalim, Quaftil, and Linnota, Grumbuskin's mate. In fact, Linnota was the one who had discovered the connection in the first place.

When they were both finished explaining their stories, there was a short interval of silence. Then Grumbuskin sighed and leaned back against the wall in the room. He commented "I am not certain that coming here was the wisest thing for you to do, Grizabella."

"I know, but I wanted to convince myself that the rumors of my son's activities were false," she told him.

"He's been in power for years," stated Grumbuskin, "Why have you only come down here now?"

"Well, as I told you a few minutes ago, I've spent a lot of my time outside the country," Grizabella answered, "Originally, I intended to show the fellow members of my tribe that there was nothing wrong with following one's own path in life. You see, the Jellicles hold a belief that the only 'unforgivable' sin a member of the tribe can commit – other than certain serious acts like rape, murder, or assisted suicide – is leaving the tribe with the intention of never returning. That is exactly what I did. Every now and then, I contacted some of my old friends here in London and asked them how the Tribe was holding up. Yet never once did they say anything about Macavity's desertion."

"Perhaps they did not want you to know," Grumbuskin theorized, "There are some things that no mother should ever have to hear about her children."

"That could be," Grizabella agreed, "But just recently, my modeling job brought me to the northern part of the country. That what was when I began to hear the rumors of a ginger cat who became one of London's most powerful crime lords and had very recently taken control of the Siamese fleet. At first I paid no heed to these rumors. But then they started getting greater in number, and more detail was put into them. When I heard from one of my colleagues that the ginger cat once belonged to the Jellicle Tribe, I started asking other people if they knew the cat's name. Eventually, I was informed that his name was 'Macavity.'"

"You needn't say the rest," said Grumbuskin, "I believe you already explained it."

"Yes, I did," she nodded. Grizabella paused for a moment. Then a few tears of sorrow started welling up in her eyes. She told Grumbuskin with a tone of sadness in her voice "When I confronted Macavity last night, he referred to himself as my favorite son. Truth be told, he always **was **my favorite son. I loved him so much when he was a kitten and when he was a young adult. When I left the tribe, I felt that he would be the most successful of my three sons. But to discover that that sweet, innocent child I raised has become… whatever that monster upstairs is... I now know that I failed as a parent."

Grizabella covered her eyes with her front paws and began sobbing in despair. Grumbuskin held her close to comfort her. He told her with assurance in his tone "You did not fail. I have had the privilege of meeting your other two sons. The two of them were with Mungojerrie when Mungo came to me for help. I know very little about Rum Tum Tugger, but Munkustrap… even though I do not know him very much, I can safely conclude that he is among the most honorable toms I have ever encountered in my life."

In addition to his own backstory, Grumbuskin had also enlightened Grizabella of how much involvement he and his crew had in the past with the Jellicle Tribe. Grizabella was astounded to learn that one of the tribe members (Tumblebrutus) had served on Growltiger's vessel. Then again, she had left the tribe before many of its members were born, so she was not entirely aware of the younger members' lives.

"In the meantime, I just hope I can someday be reunited with my own son," Grumbuskin went on, as he continued to comfort Grizabella "I made him a promise that he and I would see each other again. If I were to die here, death would not be my biggest disappointment. My biggest disappointment would be that I broke my promise."

"I'm certain that you'll see him someday," Grizabella assured the black and grey tom. She was resting her head against his chest; he had his arm around her back. She looked up at him and said "But there is one thing I would like to know. How have you been able to go this long in solitary confinement while keeping holding back your sanity?"

Grumbuskin scoffed and replied "It hasn't been easy, but I manage all the same. I just think about my promise, as well as my surviving comrades. I also think of the late ones. Thinking of them brings me back to my days on board the _Demagogue_. That sets my mind at ease and brings me peace."

"I understand that sentiment," stated Grizabella, "Sometimes when I was overseas, I would feel great amounts of stress. You see, my job was not as easy as one would think. But thinking of my family here – especially Macavity – would help me to relax."

"That's lovely," remarked Grumbuskin, "However, thinking of my family is not all I do to keep my mind in order. I have also managed to retain my sanity by… singing."

Grizabella was a little surprised. She looked up at him again and said "Really?"

"Yes, I sing to myself every now and then," Grumbuskin told her, "I know a great many songs, but my favorite is probably this one song I first heard when I lived in the country. Out in the wilderness. This was before my father and I lost our family, and it was one of the happiest stages of my life."

Grizabella got an idea. She sat up a little and asked him "Would you care to sing it for me?"

He looked at her and queried "Do you really want to hear it?"

She nodded her head vigorously. "I'd very much like to hear it."

Grumbuskin sat thinking for a moment. Then he shrugged and figured "Why not? I may as well, now that I have an appropriate audience."

He stood up and went to the center of the room. Grizabella watched him in interest as he struck a tall pose.

Grumbuskin lowered his head a little and focused his gaze directly on Grizabella. He soon began to sing in his harmonious bass voice:

"_True you ride the finest horse… I've ever seen…  
Standing 16' one or two, with eyes wild and green._"

Grizabella knew this song. She had heard it a few times while travelling in Ireland. She could actually hear the background music in her head while Grumbuskin sang. Based on his movements, he could hear the music in his head as well.

He continued without any delay:

"_You ride the horse so well, hands light to the touch_…_  
I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to._"

Grumbuskin raised his left front leg and slowly waved it once in the air in front of him. While he did this, he took a step forward with his left front leg and kneeled as he sang the next two words:

"_Ride on… see you…_"

When he sang those words, Grizabella softly sung them in the background.

Grumbuskin then stood up straight and finished the verse:

"_I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to_."

Standing up straight again, he sang:

"_Ride on… see you… I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to_."

He sang the next four lines while making a few gestures with his front legs and his head.

He waved his right front leg once and looked around the room as he sang:

"_When you ride into the night, without a trace behind…_"

He extended his claws on one of his paws and placed them on his chest while he sang:

"_Run your claw along my gut, one last time_."

He looked over his shoulder twice and pointed behind himself when he sang:

"_I turn to face an empty space, where you used to lie_."

He waved his paw in front of his face and pointed to his eyes as he sang:

"_I look for the spark that lights the night…_

_Through a teardrop in your eye_…"

He repeated the chorus with Grizabella softly singing backup for him:

"_Ride on… see you… I… could never go with you no matter how I wanted to.  
Ride on… see you… I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to._"

He paused his singing for a moment and let the music to the song play in his mind. Grizabella did the same. After a few seconds, they finished the song with him singing the lead and her backing him up:

"_Ride on… see you… I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to.  
Ride on… see you… I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to.  
I could never go with you no matter how I wanted to.  
Woo-oo, I could never go with you… no matter how I wanted to._"

Then the song was over. Grumbuskin bowed while Grizabella applauded for him.

…

Upstairs, Hoagemont was in the cafeteria with Oswald. The two of them were having dinner with six other cats at a table in the center of the room.

Like Oswald, these cats were each one of Macavity's bodyguards. There was only one queen in the group. She was a ginger and grey cat named Falazea. Her shift guarding Macavity ran from eight to eleven in the morning.

The other five were toms. One was a scarlet and tan patched cat named Sydney. His shift ran from five to eight in the morning. One was a grey and calico cat named Burkin. His shift ran from two to five in the afternoon. One was a gold and white cat named Xerxes. His shift ran from eleven in the morning to two in the afternoon. One was a brown and orange cat named Delondo. His shift ran from two to five in the morning. The last one was a black and cream striped cat named Ullick. His shift ran from eight to eleven at night.

"You told me that Macavity has eight bodyguards?" Hoagemont said to Oswald.

"That is correct," confirmed Oswald, as he scratched his side with one paw – taking off a little bit of his silver and grey fur in the process – and used his fork to pick up a piece of roasted mouse with the other.

"I only count seven," the Siamese ambassador pointed out.

"That's because Fritz isn't here," stated Burkin, "His shift guarding the Boss runs from five to eight at night. He should be free in less than an hour."

"Then it'll be my turn," commented Ullick, "I need to be out of here by 7:45. If we're still here by then, somebody left me know."

"Sure, whatever you say," agreed Falazea.

"I don't think it'll be hard to forget the time," remarked Delondo, "Let's just hope that Xerxes doesn't put you to sleep with one of his stories again."

"Hey, you told me that my stories were interesting!" shouted Xerxes as he tried to swat his colleague on the back of the head.

Delondo chuckled as he dodged the blow and said "Relax, Xerxes. I was just kidding; your stories **are **interesting."

"Sometimes I wonder…" Burkin muttered under his breath as he rolled his eyes. Then he put his loaded fork into his mouth.

Hoagemont was studying the contents of his tray closely. He was not quite certain was what placed in front of him. It did look appetizing, but it also looked quite mysterious.

"Something wrong with the food, Commander?" enquired Delondo.

"I'm not entirely positive…" was the ambassador's response. He poked a fried bird's wing with his fork uncertainly. Part of him wanted to go ahead and eat the wing, but the other half was much more skeptical about eating unfamiliar foods.

"Did you see something move?" Sydney asked jokingly, "I once did."

"No, I did not see anything move; it's just… may I ask what exactly we are eating?" requested Hoagemont.

"It's fried pigeon and roasted mouse with a side of plain pasta," answered Ullick, "Just go ahead and tuck in, Commander; it's really good. Especially when you compare it to the slop we were given last night."

Hoagemont shrugged, took his fork, and used it to transfer a piece of roasted mouse from his plate to his mouth. After chewing and swallowing, he remarked "This isn't half bad. But I would like to know something: are you ever unable to determine what you're eating?"

Delondo was the first to reply. He merely shrugged and stated "Sometimes we question what we're eating. But we know that the smart thing to do is to keep our mouths shut and just eat it."

"He's right; it's better to just eat this shit than to complain about its quality," remarked Sydney, "Believe me, Commander; no one with any brains around here decides to become a food critic. The chef almost **scalped **the last idiot who openly criticized his cooking."

"Ah yes, that night we had dinner **and **a show!" Xerxes recalled.

"I could have done without the dinner, though," stated Falazea.

"Yeah, you and me both," Burkin concurred.

There was a short interval of silence as the eight cats ate their dinner. A few minutes later, Hoagemont looked around the table and addressed the others with "So, tell me; how does one become a bodyguard of The Hidden Paw?"

"It ain't easy," Oswald remarked, "The job itself is as simple as any other line of work can get around here, but **getting **to the job is a great challenge."

"Every henchcat in this organization is presented with the chance to become one of the Boss's bodyguards," stated Xerxes, "But only a select few get the job."

"How **do **you get it?" enquired the Siamese ambassador.

"It's a three-stage process," responded Sydney, "Only the ones who excel in all three areas are able to make it to the position of Macavity's bodyguard."

"How does that work?" said Hoagemont.

"First, we all have to be evaluated by the medical staff," explained Delondo, "They dig up our profiles and examine our history. This is the first step, yet one of the most critical ones in the process. If we have any disreputable feature in our psychological background – be it drug addictions, raging alcoholism, bouts of abrupt violent behavior – we can kiss the chance to become bodyguards good-bye."

"Fortunately, none of **us** had anything like that, so we went on to the second stage with everyone else who passed the first stage" Falazea took over the explanation, "That is when we are given the physically-challenging tests. This is where we are evaluated by the training instructors and combat officers. We go through trials that measure our strength, agility, and speed. Only the ones that make it through all the way are able to move on to the third and final stage."

"The third stage is arguably the hardest," Ullick continued for his colleague, "Only a couple dozen of us make it there. That is when Macavity himself evaluates us. For this test, we each go into a dimly-lit room with him alone. Then, without any warning whatsoever, he attacks us from any angle. Let me tell you, Macavity is a **superb **fighter. And he's the fastest fucking thing I ever saw in my life! Anyway, the purpose of this stage is to determine our level of awareness and responsiveness in any situation. If Macavity catches us off our guard or believes us to be absent-minded at times, we're out of the running."

"But look around you, Commander," said Burkin, "The seven of us – as well as Fritz – all made it through those three arduous stages. The role of Macavity's bodyguard is a very prestigious position in this organization. It has numerous benefits. For example, this table we're sitting at; it's reserved for us alone. No one else sits or eats here."

"We also have more privacy than most of the others," Oswald said to Hoagemont, "I told you earlier that henchcats with greater amounts of authority get less roomates than the average henchcat. By holding the rank of bodyguard, each of us only has one roommate. So we all share four different rooms in pairs."

Hoagemont nodded his head in interest. He looked over at Falazea and asked her "Just out of curiosity, who do you share a room with?"

She looked up at him and queried "Why do you ask, Commander?"

"You're the only queen in this group," he pointed out, "So I was just wondering; who do you room with?"

Xerxes placed one of his front paws over his mouth and tried to suppress the desire to laugh. Then he said "Commander, look a little closer at her. It will probably be easier for you to determine the answer on your own."

Hoagemont was not entirely certain was Xerxes was implying, but decided to follow his suggestion.

The Siamese ambassador focused on Falazea visually. She was sitting in between Delondo and Burkin. However, something caught Hoagemont's eye. Falazea had both of her front paws on the surface of the table. With one she held onto her fork and ate her food; with the other she held onto her tray. Burkin was doing the exact same thing with both of his front paws. However, Delondo only had his right front paw on the table's surface. This was the paw he held his fork in. His other paw was off the table. In fact, he appeared to be resting his paw somewhere on something.

Hoagemont leaned forward a little closer, but then quickly drew his head back. Based on the angle of Delondo's arm and the position Falazea was sitting, it was quite obvious that he was resting his left front paw near her birth-giving region.

Hoagemont had to go to incredible lengths to prevent himself from bursting out laughing. He tried covering his mouth with both of his paws. That did not work. He tried drinking his glass of water in one gulp. That did not work. He tried coughing to avoid laughter. He almost coughed up a hairball instead. Eventually, he just laughed straight out.

Sydney, Burkin, and Xerxes started laughing with him.

"Too much information!" commented Sydney.

"Oh, shut up," grumbled Delondo. Clearly, neither he nor Falazea felt uncomfortable with the idea of being so close to each other in public.

"Where are your quarters, sir?" Burkin asked Hoagemont.

"I believe they are in the third corridor outside this room," answered the Siamese officer.

"Well, then you're lucky!" stated Burkin. He then said while gesturing towards Delondo and Falazea "You're nowhere near the room these two share. I mean, Ullick and I share the room right next to theirs! At night, they can be so loud that falling asleep can actually be a challenge!"

"Burkin, shut up," said Falazea, somewhat annoyed.

Burkin chuckled and said to the two cats sitting to his right "It's quite obvious that you two are fucking each other's brains out! But could you do it a little more quietly? Some of us have to get our sleep sometime, you know!"

Delondo reached around Falazea and slapped Burkin on the back of his head. He did not use a great deal of force; just enough to convince him to keep his mouth closed.

"You could have asked us a little more **discreetly**, you know," Delondo muttered angrily, "If we are a little louder than you'd prefer us to be, we can remedy that problem. But that was uncalled for, Burkin. Don't make such dumbass remarks like that."

Burkin put his paws up in mock-surrender and said "Alright, alright. Delondo, Falazea, I'm sorry I brought that up. Really, I'm sorry. But still, it wasn't a **complete **exaggeration."

Hoagemont looked back and forth between the two toms, rubbing his chin. "This is quite interesting."

"What do you mean, Commander?" enquired Oswald.

"I have been studying the behavior of each of your colleagues during our meal," explicated the Siamese officer, "I have this talent of determining an individual's personality based on how they talk, as well as what they talk about. I was just about to conclude that Delondo was in some ways the 'wisecracker' of this group while Burkin was the 'rigid, no-nonsense type.' But based off what just happened, I guess I may have judged them a little too quickly."

There was a brief pause. Ullick broke it and said "Actually, sir, I'd say that your assumptions were well-founded. Delondo does indeed have that typical 'wise-guy' persona. However, at times he can be deadly serious, such as when somebody talks about him and Falazea in such a way."

"Thank you for that, Ullick," said Delondo gratefully.

"And Burkin is usually the most stern out of all eight of us," stated Xerxes, "However, I believe he is also the most cunning of us, as well. Every once in a while, he makes a few sly remarks. And more often than not, he's successful at getting a laugh out of them."

"Yes, I am, Xerxes," agreed Burkin, smirking "I'm glad you occasionally find me funny, too."

"Free unions are not frowned upon in the Siamese fleet," Hoagemont stated, "But all the same, we do not gossip about other officers' intimate relationships with fellow officers, especially when at the dinner table. That being said, I would prefer it if we talk about something else."

"Very well, Commander," stated Oswald, "What would you like to talk about?"

Hoagemont sat thinking for about a minute. Then he said "I heard a pretty interesting story the other night. I'll tell you how it went…"

But before he could continue, he felt someone tap him on the shoulder. Hoagemont turned around and saw a white, orange, and black patched tom standing in front of him.

"Hey, Fritz, what's up?" remarked Sydney.

The orange, white, and black tom did not even look over at his colleague. He seemed to have all of his focus on Hoagemont.

"Commander, forgive me for this interruption, but I must request that you come with me at once," Fritz told the Siamese ambassador, "Macavity has some… unsettling news to share with you."

"What do you mean?" asked Hoagemont, "What news?"

"Apparently, there's been a breakout from one of your fleet's laboratories," Fritz responded.

Hoagemont jumped up and almost shouted "WHAT?"

Fritz did not flinch, despite the fact that Hoagemont was staring him directly in the eye. His expression seemed rather emotionless. All he said was "I do not know the full details of the matter, sir, but Macavity wishes for you to know everything about it; he just received an entire report of the incident from the laboratory staff. So he asked me to find you and lead you to the communications array. That is where he'll be waiting with the report."

"Alright, take me to him," Hoagemont practically ordered the black, orange, and white henchcat.

Fritz nodded, turned around, and started walking back towards the cafeteria's exit.

Hoagemont turned back to the other seven cats at the table. Each of them seemed almost as stunned as he was. He just said "I guess I'll have to tell you that story another time" and followed Fritz out of the room.

**Review, please! What do you think of the song? I think it's one of the best songs that Celtic Thunder has covered. I also thought it went well with the scenario that Grumbuskin and Grizabella were in. Also, what do you think of these other henchcats that function as Macavity's bodyguards? I'm trying to give all eight of them very different personalities, sort of like the twelve jurors in "12 Angry Men" (A movie that you MUST see before you die!). Anyway, I'd like to know what you think of the chapter!**


	17. Coping With The Present

**Note: Sorry about the two-week wait. These past two weeks back at college have been a little hectic. That, and I decided to start watching South Park. I know I have well over 200 episodes to cover, but I managed to watch about 60 of them in the past two weeks. At this rate, I'll be up to date by Spring Break. I gotta say; that show is freakin' hilarious. It's vastly superior to Family Guy. (I used to love Family Guy; now I hate it with a burning passion because it's unfunny, unoriginal, racist, insensitive, and borderline offensive.) South Park, on the other hand, is still occasionally offensive, but it's much more intelligent, nuanced, and brilliant. If you need a good show to watch, go with South Park!**

**I actually meant to update on Sunday, but… I had to go to the ER to have my appendix removed. In fact, Monday was the first day of school/college I have been absent from in four and one-half years! I'm really serious about perfect attendance and such; I guess only surgery will stop me from attending school. The surgery itself went well, but the incisions will take about two weeks to heal. That means I cannot drive, practice dancing, lift weights, or lift anything heavier than 20 pounds until 2/20. In answer to your question: Yes, that blows. That blows monkeys, but I'll quickly adapt and recover; I think I inherited my Mom's resilience. So, no worries about that.**

**By the way, you like my new profile picture? That's the face I make when I pose for most of my pictures (Heh, heh, not really). Anyway, on with the chapter.**

Roshedam and Ralpharite had resumed following the directions to the meeting place. The route on the map was careful to avoid passing through any districts that were heavily influenced by Macavity's dominion or the Siamese's rule. However, it also warned them that the Pollicles would be all over the city, so they could not really predict where they would show up.

Ralpharite walked slightly ahead of Roshedam and read his directions aloud: "We'll walk down this street and turn around the corner. Then we'll proceed to a circle drive and make our way to the road on the right."

Roshedam sighed and remarked "Ralph, this may seem strange, but I think the map is taking us all over the city. I can think of much more direct routes we could take to get to that harbor."

"I know, Rosh, I can, too," stated Ralpharite as he continued focusing on the map, "But we have to follow the directions exactly as they're written. If not, we could encounter the Siamese, or Macavity's henchcats, or-"

"Pollicles," Roshedam uttered quietly.

"Correct," nodded Ralpharite, "And we can't let that happen."

"Pollicles," Roshedam repeated.

Ralpharite stopped in his tracks and looked over his shoulder at his friend. He said in slight confusion "Yes, you just said that. Why did you repeat it?"

Roshedam pointed in the direction he was facing. Ralpharite turned around and saw what had caught his attention.

A group of Pollicle dogs were running directly towards them.

"Oh, shit," Ralpharite muttered under his breath.

"What do we do?" Roshedam asked, a little worriedly.

"Just… stay calm," Ralpharite told him, "Don't panic and follow my lead."

The two of them waited as the Pollicles approached them. They were not moving very quickly, but it was enough to make both of them break into a sweat. However, they did not want to give off any hint of worry or fright, so their expression remained emotionless.

Soon, the Pollicles reached the two toms and surrounded them. There were eight of them total. They growled maliciously and eyed them hostilely, but stayed at least two feet away from them.

About twenty seconds passed before a German shepherd – obviously the leader of the group – stepped forward and stopped directly in front of Roshedam and Ralpharite. He remarked "Going somewhere, are we?"

"Yes, sir," Ralpharite answered calmly, "My colleague and I are on our way to the harbor at Battersea."

The Pollicle studied the two toms and noticed their weapons and backpacks. He asked them "Why do you need to be so armed to travel to the harbor?"

"We're in the navy," responded Roshedam, "We were reassigned to a ship in this city."

"Well, then I assume you to be aware of the new law that has been passed," commented the Pollicle.

"What law?" queried Ralpharite.

"All stray cats are not allowed to move freely on the streets of London," replied the German shepherd, "Under order of Macavity the Mystery Cat, any stray cat that travels in the city unauthorized will be rounded up and taken to him."

"Well, my good sir, we are indeed aware of this law," stated Ralpharite, "And it just so happens that we **do **have the proper authorization."

"You do?" said one of the other Pollicles.

The German shepherd gestured for his associate to be quiet and turned back to the two toms. He told them "In that case, show us."

Ralpharite and Roshedam agreed. The two of them took off their backpacks, dug through them, and pulled out their licenses. They held them out to the German shepherd. He took them and studied them closely.

He handed the two licenses to the dog standing to his right and ordered him "Verify their authenticity."

The other dog received the licenses and inspected every single detail: the writing style, the font, the codes, the number of words per line, and everything else. After about two minutes, he handed the two slips back to his superior and told him "They both check out, sir; these licenses are legitimate."

The German shepherd nodded and handed Ralpharite and Roshedam their slips, though somewhat angrily. He gruffly told them "I'd suggest that you keep those close. Otherwise your employment in the navy will be brought to a swift end."

Ralpharite scoffed and said lightheartedly "I understand, gentlemen. But you cannot intimidate us with your petty threats; we have seen much worse than you ever will. Besides, Macavity has no more jurisdictions in this city than anyone else."

The German shepherd growled at him and snapped "If you are wise, you will not say such things to Pollicles. We've killed for less than that, but because you are licensed, we will spare you. And while Macavity may not be the official ruler of either of our species in this city, he still has the means to usurp such power."

Ralpharite looked over his shoulder and remarked drily "I guess we've been warned."

Roshedam nodded lazily to indicate that he was not intimidated by the German shepherd's words either.

The German shepherd looked around at his colleagues and told them "Let's move."

The eight dogs took off in the opposite direction to resume searching the city streets for more stray cats.

"Close call back there," remarked Ralpharite.

"No kidding," agreed Roshedam, "But still, that was brilliant, Ralph! I'll bet you really ticked that Pollicle off."

"I'm certain I did," stated Ralpharite, "But let's get back on track, Rosh. We don't have much time until the meeting is supposed to start."

"Right," Roshedam agreed.

As they continued following the map's directions, Roshedam turned to Ralpharite and told him "Why did you tell that Pollicle we were going to Battersea? Our intended destination is nowhere near there…"

Ralpharite did not even need to answer that question. Roshedam quickly realized the answer on his own: Ralpharite simply told the Pollicles that they were going to Battersea in order to throw them off track. Smart thinking on his part.

The two of them resumed making their way through London's quiet streets.

Before long, they arrived alongside the Thames River. Ralpharite announced "It shouldn't be long before we get there. We only have a little ways to go."

They travelled about a hundred meters. Then, for no apparent reason, Roshedam stopped dead in his tracks.

"Ralph, wait," he told his friend.

Ralpharite looked over his shoulder and asked him "Why? What's wrong, Rosh?"

Roshedam pointed towards the river and told him "Look."

Ralpharite turned in the direction Roshedam was pointing. He was greeted with an extraordinary sight.

There was a cat-sized barge sailing in the center of the Thames. In terms of scale, it was more than twice the size of a human sailboat. It was large enough to accommodate a crew of over one hundred cats.

Ralpharite would recognize this vessel anywhere. It was the _Demagogue_.

Six months earlier, Ralpharite had served on this vessel under Growltiger, along with ninety-three other toms.

Then one night, the Siamese had ambushed the ship at East Molesey, just a number of miles southeast of Roshedam's apartment. The crew count dropped from ninety-five to thirty-nine that day, and the Siamese captured the _Demagogue_.

That was the last time Ralpharite – and everyone else in his group – had ever seen the _Demagogue_. Now, he saw it again after six long months.

Even though it looked almost exactly the same, it had been virtually transformed.

The _Demagogue _was once a powerful, peaceful ship that only used violence against hated enemies. Growltiger and his crew were widely feared on the Thames, but many people still saw their vessel as a wondrous and honorable one.

Ever since the Siamese captured it, the _Demagogue _had become an almost-universally feared ship. The Siamese had taken a respectable ship that mostly only dealt in trade and alliances and transformed it into a much-loathed, bloodthirsty warship.

The vessel itself was now entirely run by Siamese sailors, and it served as the flagship of the Siamese fleet. Mouveilyr himself captained the vessel whenever he was away from the fleet headquarters, and he directed all commercial activity on the River from it.

"I guess our efforts to cripple the ship were in vain," remarked Ralpharite, "The _Demagogue _used to be the most beautiful thing to ever grace the waters of the Thames. Now look what the Siamese have done to her. They've violated her! They've turned her into a symbol of everything that is wrong with this world!"

Six months earlier, almost immediately after the Siamese had captured the _Demagogue_, Grumbuskin, Ralpharite, and a handful of other survivors in the crew had attempted to destroy the ship. They would rather have had her lie in peace at the bottom of the Thames than see her controlled by the ruthless Siamese.

They had failed to scuttle the ship, but they did manage to obliterate the engines, in hopes that the ship would be rendered permanently disabled. Unfortunately, the Siamese were not willing to lose their prize so easily. It took them twelve weeks, but they managed to repair the engines and officially claim the _Demagogue _as theirs.

Roshedam patted his friend on the back and told him "I know you're upset, Ralph; I'm very displeased with what the Siamese have done to the _Demagogue_, as well. But there is always hope that we will someday reclaim her."

Ralpharite sighed and turned around, saying "I suppose you're right, Rosh. It just pains me to see such a wondrous object be reduced to something so violent and terrible."

Roshedam sympathized with his friend's situation, despite having never served on the _Demagogue_'s crew. After all, the surviving crewmembers considered him to be one of their numbers and his father used to be the ship's First Officer. He actually came up with the idea of officially becoming part of the crew once it was safe for the survivors to come out of hiding and return to the river.

"Assuming the map is correct, we only have a few blocks left to go," Roshedam announced.

"Then let's get on with this," stated Ralpharite.

The two toms resumed making their way to the rendezvous place without any further hindrances.

On the bridge of the _Demagogue_, Mouveilyr was speaking with two of his most trusted fleet officers: a captain of another vessel named Majibetus and his eldest son Filvaro.

Majibetus was once one of Growltiger's allies during the days of the Bravo Cat's reign on the Thames. However, after word of Growltiger's defeat at East Molesey went around, Majibetus – like many of Growltiger's allies – betrayed the Bravo Cat and defected to the Siamese. Several of Growltiger's more loyal and honest allies resisted the Siamese, but almost all of them had perished in their futile effort to end the Siamese reign before it even began.

Majibetus already held the rank of Captain when he worked with Growltiger; Mouveilyr allowed him to keep that rank and retain command of his own vessel, a destroyer named the _Xanthus_.

Filvaro served as the Combat Officer on the _Draco_, the Siamese flagship before the _Demagogue_.

Both of them were there that night on Mouveilyr's invitation. At least once a week, he had them come aboard to discuss the various happenings along the river.

They had nothing of particular interest to exchange about the river's activities that night, so the three of them simply talked amongst themselves about other interesting recent events.

"How has your crew been holding up, Captain?" Filvaro asked Majibetus.

"Oh, fairly well," was the higher-ranked officer's response. There was a notable hint of annoyance in his voice. He stated "A few of my men almost got taken away by the Pollicles the other day. It took me the better part of twenty minutes to convince the dogs that they were trying to apprehend members of the Siamese fleet."

"Ah, yes, this is not the first incident I have been apprised of," remarked Mouveilyr, "Then again, I suppose it would be difficult to convince someone that you're a member of the Siamese fleet when you look nothing LIKE a Siamese cat."

"That is exactly what I thought," stated Majibetus, "Fortunately, I've made certain that this will not happen again. The Pollicles now know how to distinguish members of my crew from strays."

"Well, that's certainly an improvement on their performance," said Filvaro, "The last thing we need is to have members of our fleet being rounded up by Macavity's goons. That would bring us into a hopeless circle of convoluted alliances."

"Macavity only hires the finest trackers in the city," Mouveilyr informed his son, "They never make a mistake more than once. The best ones literally do not even **think **about making a mistake; they just do their work without question."

"A shame we don't have more officers that are like that," commented Majibetus, "That's an idealistic quality for many of the low-ranked officers."

At that moment, the _Demagogue_'s communication officer came exited the navigations room and approached the three toms. He faced Mouveilyr and told him "Sir, I'm receiving a priority-one communiqué."

"Source?" asked the Siamese fleet commander.

"It appears to be originating from Macavity's hideout," responded the communications officer.

"Hoagemont?" assumed Filvaro.

"I believe so," nodded the officer, "According to the message's code, we're receiving live feed."

"Alright, let me see it," Mouveilyr ordered the officer.

The officer led the Siamese fleet commander, his son, and Majibetus to the navigations room. There was a chair in the center of the room designated as the Captain's Chair. In front of it was a computer screen.

The communications officer sat at his post off to one side of the room while Mouveilyr sat down in his chair. The former looked over at the latter and told him "I'll redirect the message from my station to yours, sir."

Mouveilyr nodded and turned to face the screen in front of him. Filvaro and Majibetus stood behind him, watching the screen just as closely as him.

A moment later, the screen was activated and Hoagemont appeared on it.

"Good evening, sir," stated the Lieutenant Commander, "I am glad I did not inconvenience you."

"I certainly hope you're not, Hoagemont," Mouveilyr told his ambassador, "What's all this about?"

"Sir, Macavity and I just received a rather disturbing message from one of our laboratories," Hoagemont began tentatively.

"Which one?" asked Mouveilyr.

"The one with the American test subjects," answered Hoagemont.

"Well, then, what was the message about?" queried Filvaro.

Hoagemont paused for a moment, playing with his front paws uneasily. Then he replied "One of the test subjects has escaped."

At that moment, everyone in that room stopped whatever they were doing and turned to face the screen. They listened closely to everything Hoagemont had to say.

"'Escaped?'" Mouveilyr repeated in shock, "How could there be an escape? That is impossible! I was told that those laboratories have security as tight as Alcatraz!"

"Sir, forgive me if I sound impertinent, but it is only a myth that no one ever escaped from Alcatraz," Hoagemont politely reminded his Commander, "Aside from that, I have a whole report of the breakout right in front of me."

Mouveilyr scratched his brow in frustration and asked his ambassador "Just how much of this do you already know?"

"Not much, sir," answered the Lieutenant Commander, "I do know that the test subject was female. Her coat was composed of shades of gold and brown, and she was relatively young in comparison to most of her companions. Her name is Vecinha."

"How much damage was done?" queried Mouveilyr.

"Minimal damage was done to the facility's equipment," stated Hoagemont, "However, I have a casualty list that totals to fourteen. Only two of them are wounded; the other twelve are dead. It seems she broke out while she was being experimented on."

"Wasn't anyone guarding her at the time?" asked Filvaro in annoyance.

"Yes, of course," Hoagemont responded, "There were five scientists and five guards looking over her. But somehow, she broke free and killed eight of them."

Hoagemont paused for a moment and then said nervously to Mouveilyr "On that note, sir… there is… something you should know…"

"What might that be?" asked Mouveilyr, paying even more attention to what his ambassador had to say.

Hoagemont contemplated his answer, thinking about how he could give it without sending off the wrong message. Finally, he stated "Your son Joreng was one of the people guarding Vecinha when she broke out…"

Mouveilyr had a very grim idea as to what Hoagemont was implying. He felt a bit of grief and despair starting to take him over. He did not let it show, though; he was much too disciplined to show such emotion in front of his subordinates.

Filvaro leaned forward and asked worriedly "Are you saying that my brother… is… is…"

Mouveilyr finished for him: "Is my son dead?"

Hoagemont quickly shook his paws in front of him and replied "Oh, no, no, no, sir. Joreng is not dead. He's one of the two survivors. However, he was knocked out cold when Vecinha made her getaway. The medical staff from the laboratory tell me that he is unconscious, but he'll recover soon enough."

Mouveilyr and Filvaro both breathed sighs of relief. The former stated "Hoagemont, for a second there, I thought you were going to tell me that my son was killed."

"No, he's very much alive, sir," Hoagemont assured his Commander, "At the very least, he's much better off than the other survivor."

"How do you mean?" asked Filvaro.

"The other guard was found savagely beaten," Hoagemont enlightened them, "He has at least two notable bone fractures and three severe lacerations. But that's not anywhere close to the worst part."

"What's the worst part?" Mouveilyr asked.

Hoagemont did not answer straight away. He waited for a few moments before replying "You don't want to know, sir. Believe me; you **really **don't want to know."

"Yes, I do, Commander," Mouveilyr responded gruffly, "What is the worst part?"

Hoagemont sighed and replied "He had been stabbed with a shard of broken glass in… that region where no tom ever wants to be stabbed. EVER."

Several of the officers in that room cringed in disgust.

"That's not the end of it, sir," Hoagemont went on, "As for the other guards and the scientists… Vecinha did not just kill them. She **butchered **them. The other three guards all had parts of their skull smashed in. One of the scientists had her face melted off by phosphoric acid. The others… well, their fates were not as grim, but they were still shocking to say the least."

Mouveilyr sat in his chair thinking. The situation at hand was a very complex and delicate one; he needed to handle it with the utmost care. He turned back to the screen and said "You told me you have a report of the incident?"

"Yes, sir," Hoagemont acknowledged.

"I need you to transmit a copy of it to us," stated Mouveilyr.

"Alright, sir," agreed Hoagemont, "I'm sending it to you alongside my feed."

Mouveilyr turned to the communications officer, who quickly looked over the message banks and found a new computer report was coming through the network. He turned back to his Captain and told him "Confirmed, sir. The report is being downloaded into the archives as we speak."

Mouveilyr nodded and turned back to the screen. He told his ambassador "Commander, it is imperative that we find this 'Vecinha.' She may be just one lone cat, but there is no telling what kind of damage she can do to us now that she is free."

Hoagemont said "Sir, Macavity's offered the services of some of best spies and assassins to hunt her down. What do you think?"

"No, no, I think it would be best if we keep this matter restricted to our fleet," replied Mouveilyr, "As far as I know, the test subjects are not even aware of Macavity's involvement in our operations."

"But wouldn't that give his henchcats the element of surprise over her?" reasoned Hoagemont.

"It may, but there is a chance that it will compromise his cover," Mouveilyr countered, "So, tell him that we are grateful, but we must respectfully decline the offer."

"Very well, sir," Hoagemont acknowledged, "Signing off."

The screen turned to static and shut down.

The room was totally silent for a few moments. Then Mouveilyr looked over at the communications officer and asked him "Does that report contain a profile on Vecinha?"

The communications officer quickly looked over the report's content and replied "Yes, sir. A very detailed one, at that."

Mouveilyr stood up and turned to Majibetus. He told him "We're going to begin a search for this queen. I want your ship to lead the search. Tell your men to prepare for a hunt. Once you are ready, we will decide which ships will join yours."

Majibetus saluted the Siamese fleet commander and left the room. Mouveilyr then turned to his eldest son and told him "Filvaro, there is something I must ask of you."

"Name it, Father," said the younger officer.

"I want you to travel to that laboratory and stay there until your brother has regained consciousness," Mouveilyr ordered him, "When he has, I want you to ask him just what went on in that experimentation room. Firsthand knowledge of Vecinha's tactics will be essential in determining how we can find and defeat her."

"Yes, Father," agreed Filvaro, "Is there anything else I can do?"

"Indeed there is," replied Mouveilyr, "Once Joreng is finished giving you his recollection of what happened, I want you to inform him that he is relieved of duty until further notice."

Filvaro seemed a little surprised by this last order. "What do you mean? Relieved of duty? Whatever for?"

"He cannot spend so much time locked up in that laboratory," reasoned Mouveilyr, "He needs to get out of there for a little time. Tell him he is on leave for a minimum of one week. Have him see Cathieel. Make him spend some time trading or fishing. I don't care what you do; just get your brother out of that madhouse for a while!"

Filvaro slowly nodded and saluted his father, telling him apprehensively "It will be done… sir."

Mouveilyr smirked and stated "In the meantime, when was the last time you visited your mate and children?"

"Yesterday," Filvaro replied as he lowered his paw. He was still somewhat apprehensive, "I make certain that I visit them at least every other day."

"Excellent," nodded Mouveilyr approvingly, "A good officer always makes time for his family. Dismissed."

Filvaro slightly bowed to his father and left the room. Mouveilyr sat back down in his chair and wiped a few drops of perspiration off his brow. It was not easy for him; being the Commander of the Siamese fleet and a father at the same time. Genghis never had children, so he never had to deal with personal familial matters.

Of course, Mouveilyr had found several ways to improve upon his predecessor's work. He at first doubted that he would ever be able to replace Genghis, but within a few weeks after assuming command of the fleet, his fellow officers looked to him with more respect than ever before.

He was virtually the new Genghis to the rest of the fleet. He was just as strong, just as powerful, and just as ruthless.

…

Roshedam and Ralpharite travelled for a few more blocks until they arrived at a marina. It was bustling with activity. Ships were being loaded and inspected, seamen were discussing trade with weapons and provisions, and the many of the shops were teeming with customers.

After travelling a short distance down the marina, Roshedam and Ralpharite arrived at a kiosk that dealt in hardware. There was a tom sitting at the stand, talking with a slightly older queen. Rosh and Ralph impatiently waited for the two of them to finish their business.

Once the queen was gone, the two toms approached the orange and grey tom. Ralpharite said aloud "Excuse me, we would like to place an order for a shipment of containers."

The tom looked up at them from his seat and stated "Very well, gentlemen. Any specifications?"

"Yes," responded Roshedam, "We would like them to be six inches by eight inches by three inches."

The tom typed the info into a computer off to the side of the stand. Then he looked back at the two toms and asked "Would you prefer metal, glass, aluminum, or Pyrex?"

"Half Pyrex and half metal, if you please," stated Ralpharite.

"Alright, let me check our inventory," said the tom. He typed some more data into his computer and waited for a few moments. When he got some feedback, he turned back to the two toms in front of him and told them "Your order in being processed, gentlemen. You can pick up the Pyrex containers either immediately or at your convenience. However, I'm afraid that your request for the metal containers must be put on hold."

Roshedam raised an eyebrow and snapped "Put on hold? Why?"

"A few days earlier, a commander came by and requested a shipment of metal test tubes," replied the orange and grey tom, "Until further notice, our supply of metals is currently reserved for him. Once our craftsmen are supplied with more metal, they can get to work on your order."

Ralpharite stepped forward and remarked sharply "Now hold on just a moment. We came to you because we were told that you are the best in your trade in this city, but you're limited in resources? Obviously your reputation must not precede you."

The kiosk manager seemed to be a little offended, but he retained his demeanor and said "If you gentlemen would like, I could take you to my back room and determine how soon your shipment can arrive. It is unlikely that I'll be able to increase the rate of production, but I could try."

"Very well," Roshedam agreed. Ralpharite nodded.

The tom stood up and walked to a door in the back of the shop. He opened it and gestured for Ralpharite and Roshedam to step inside. They complied, and he followed them in, shutting the door behind him.

Roshedam sighed in annoyance and told the orange and grey tom "I cannot believe we actually had to memorize **all that **just so that you could determine that we are not spies."

The tom shrugged and smirked. "We can take no chances out here. London has become a dangerous place since the Siamese takeover."

As you have probably gathered, the previous conversation had been a test. Roshedam and Ralpharite's lines had been provided on the back of their directions. They had been instructed on how to respond to the manager's every line.

There was an ochre and tan tiger queen in the room. She was working at a computer panel, doing some research.

"Zehela, they're here," the orange and grey tom called out.

The queen turned around and saw that she and her associate had company.

"Good, they arrived just in time," she remarked.

The orange and grey tom pulled up a few chairs and offered them to Roshedam and Ralpharite. Once everyone was seated in the room, the tom opened up the conversation. He stated "Gentlemen, I am very grateful that you accepted our request to come and meet with me."

"So, you're one of the Founders?" assumed Roshedam.

"Yes, I am," answered the tom. He introduced himself and his partner "My name is Peter. This is my assistant, Zehela."

The tiger queen nodded towards the two toms in acknowledgement.

"My name is Ralpharite," said the red and white tom.

"And I am Roshedam," stated the yellow and brown tom, "And let me tell you right now; we're completely willing to help you crush those Siamese bastards into nothingness. Just give us the word."

Peter looked over at Zehela and remarked "Thogren really knows how to pick 'em."

"Ah, yes, Commander Thogren did send us here," stated Ralpharite, "He was very direct about the meeting. Obviously it must be of vital importance."

"Oh, it is," said Peter, "How much do you know of the Siamese activities in this city?"

"Not much," replied Roshedam, "It's been months since any member of our group has been here."

"In that case, allow me to bring you up to speed," offered Peter, "Three months ago, Genghis – the then leader of the Siamese fleet – was killed. On the night he died, he was finalizing an alliance with Macavity the Mystery Cat. Due to the unusual circumstances regarding Genghis' death, Macavity took command of the fleet and used it to spread his reign across the city. Now the Siamese are almost out of control. Not only are they well-known for their acts of plundering, kidnapping, and murder, but we've evidence that they are up to something more terrible than any of those things."

"What might that be?" asked Roshedam.

"Genetic engineering," Peter responded. When he said that line, he turned to Zehela and made a gesture. She turned to her computer and entered a code into the panel. A set of biological algorithms appeared on the screen.

Peter explained "These readouts are the codes we extracted from the DNA of a mutated blood sample."

"Yes, Thogren did tell us about how the Siamese were transporting mutated cat blood," Roshedam recalled.

"They're doing more than just transporting it," Zehela corrected him, "They're responsible for it in the first place."

"We believe that the Siamese are experimenting on civilians and sailors," Peter took over for her, "That is the only reasonable explanation. However, they are very good at covering up their tracks; this is the only proof we have that these experiments are even real."

While Peter talked, Ralpharite rubbed his chin and focused on his voice. Something about Peter's voice stood out to him. He was not certain what it was, but decided to bring it to attention.

"Umm… excuse me… Peter?" he politely interrupted.

"Is there something wrong?" queried the orange and grey tom.

"I don't think so," Ralpharite replied, "It's just that… well… I'm not certain how to word this…"

"Just tell me straight-out," Peter suggested, "If you have a question or something else on your mind, we can address it."

"Alright," stated Ralpharite, "I'll tell you. There's just… something about… your accent that seems to stand out to me."

"My accent?" said Peter.

"Yes," said Ralpharite, "Forgive me for bringing it up, sir, but I am not quite familiar with your accent. Are you from around here?"

Peter did not answer straight away. He seemed to be contemplating his answer. He soon replied "No, I'm not. I was not born in London."

"But where were you born?" asked Ralpharite, "I'm just curious. You see, I have this innate ability to determine where someone is from based on their accent. For example, I can tell that Zehela comes from Guildford."

"You are correct, sir," stated Zehela.

"And Roshedam was born here, but he's lived in Hampton most of his life, so he's adapted to their type of accent," remarked Ralpharite, "I myself come from Devon. As for you… I am unsure."

"My parents were from opposite sides of the country," Peter elucidated, "We did a lot of travelling during my upbringing, so I never really chose a certain accent. I guess I'm unique in a way."

Ralpharite shrugged and stated "Fair enough. Now, let's get back to the task at hand."

"Yes, let's," agreed Peter.

The four of them talked about their history of conflict with the Siamese for a while. Then they suggested potential opportunities to weaken, hinder, or even purge the Siamese dominion.

After about an hour's worth of talking, the meeting ended.

Peter handed Ralpharite a new set of directions. Then he told both him and Roshedam "Shelter has been arranged for both of you. One of our main researchers lives in Ratcliff. Follow these directions to her house. She'll tell you what to do next from there."

Roshedam and Ralpharite agreed to this arrangement. The two of them saluted Peter and Zehela and left the kiosk.

**Review, please! What do you think of the storyline so far? I know I have a bunch of little subplots going on at once, but they will all tie into the main plot. How do you like it? Do you think I have too much story or just the right amount?**

**Reviews may help me recover from my surgery faster! (Or maybe not… Heh heh)**


	18. The Reunion

**Note: You know what movie I saw this weekend? I saw "American History X." It was pretty good. One thing I really li****ke is how it had two Star Trek castmembers in it. Devina Vinyard was played by Jennifer Lien, who played Kes in the first three seasons of Star Trek: Voyager. Bob Sweeney was played by Avery Brooks, who played Commander (eventually Captain) Benjamin Sisko in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. Pretty awesome stuff! Though, I gotta say, about the film... I don't think I've ever seen the f-word and the n-word used so many times in the span of two hours. I mean, in some scenes, they were practically every other word. Oh, well, it was still good. Of course, the main highlight of the movie is Edward Norton's performance. He's brilliant in the leading role.**

At the Jellicle Junkyard, Pouncival, Tumblebrutus, and Admetus were about to head out into the city.

Pouncival and Tumblebrutus told their parents that they were going out for a walk around the city so they could have some good male bonding time.

Ever since Jellylorum and Asparagus had learned that Tumblebrutus served on board Growltiger's ship, they were careful to monitor their eldest child's actions while he was outside the tribe. While they were proud of him for clearing Growltiger's name and serving under an honorable captain, they seriously concerned themselves with his safety. They did not want him to pursue his former crewmates or try to get involved in any more activities alongside the river.

That being the case, he needed them to believe that he, his brother, and Admetus were only going out to go to an informal event, such as a free-admission party, or a West End show.

It took a while, but eventually, the two knockabout toms managed to convince their parents to let them go out for one night.

Of course, the three of them needed to sport their collars, lest they risk encountering a group of Pollicles in the city. Tumblebrutus always wore his collar, but Pouncival and Admetus only wore them when they went to visit their owners. However, considering how London was becoming a very dangerous place for stray cats – especially at night – Pouncival and Admetus decided to play it safe and wear their collars as well.

The three toms bid everyone a pleasant evening and left the junkyard through the front gates. Once they were certain that the coast was clear, Admetus ran over to the hole in the ground underneath the fence and slipped underneath it. Earlier, Pounce and Tumble had returned the bag that held his costume to its original hiding place. Admetus quietly made his way to that spot and dug up the bag. He emptied it of its contents. In addition to his costume, there was a medallion attached to a necklace inside. This was the necklace Tumblebrutus had worn on the _Demagogue _when he served as its boatswain. Tumble had suggested bringing along the medallion so that he could show it to Geraldine to prove that he once worked for the sworn enemies of the Siamese. Admetus and Pouncival both saw this as a smart idea on Tumble's part.

Admetus put on his costume, hid the bag again, and returned to the fence. He made his way back out of the junkyard's perimeter and met up with his younger friends.

As Admetus handed Tumblebrutus his medallion necklace, Pouncival queried "All set, 'Metus?"

Before answering, Admetus activated the switch to the battery pack hidden beneath his wig. The red lights in his goggles started flashing brightly.

"I'm ready," he stated in a slightly deeper voice.

"Then let's go," commented Tumblebrutus as he put on his necklace.

"Just try to keep up with me," remarked Admetus slyly.

The three toms started running through the empty streets. They made certain to run at a steady interval so that they would still have plenty of energy by the time they arrived in Ratcliff.

…

At that same time at Macavity's warehouse, Hoagemont was in his quarters. He sat leaning back in his chair, resting his hind feet on his desk.

He was still amazed that someone had broken out of one of his fleet's laboratories. As far as he knew, that was virtually unheard of.

However, finding the escapee was not his problem. His fellow officers would be more than enough to handle this task. Hoagemont's job at Macavity's warehouse simply involved acting as a liaison between Macavity and Mouveilyr.

Ever since Macavity assumed indirect control of the Siamese fleet, Mouveilyr had always had an ambassador stationed at his warehouse.

Hoagemont was the sixth ambassador he had sent out. His five predecessors had various reasons for not remaining in the position. He, however, was determined to remain at the warehouse and get on Macavity's good side (if there was such a thing).

After several minutes of uninterrupted silence, there came a knock at Hoagemont's door.

"Enter," he called out.

The door opened and Oswald stepped inside.

"Good evening, sir," he greeted the Siamese tom, "Has there been any word on the status of recovering that escapee?"

"No, nothing of particular interest," replied Hoagemont, "I don't anticipate there will be any news for a while. After all, the breakout only occurred a few hours ago."

"I see," stated Oswald, "Well, that aside, I've brought you something. Or, someone, depending on your point of view."

"What?" asked Hoagemont in interest.

Oswald gestured for someone standing outside the room to come inside. A moment later, two henchcats stepped inside. They were escorting someone inside. That someone happened to be Paulina.

Hoagemont smirked and stood up.

Oswald turned to the other two henchcats and told them "Dismissed."

The two of them nodded and left the room.

Oswald turned back to Hoagemont and asked him "Have you seen to all those precautionary measures I gave you, Commander?"

"I have, indeed," replied Hoagemont, "I do not intend to have any trouble with this queen, Oswald."

"Very well, then," said Oswald. He then took Paulina by the shoulder and made her face him. She did seem a little startled, but she did not cringe in fear or disgust. Her expression was rather emotionless.

"Listen to me closely," Oswald warned her, "If you give the Commander any problems – whether they be failure to comply with his orders or rudeness, or if he has to file so much as a single complaint – you will go directly to Room A. Is that understood?"

Paulina gazed at the ground and slowly nodded her head.

"Look me in the eyes when I talk to you!" Oswald yelled.

Paulina quickly looked up and replied "Yes… sir."

Oswald released her and turned to Hoagemont. He told her "I'll be leaving you now, sir. However, sometime around midnight, my Boss will allow you to see Grumbuskin."

"Excellent, Oswald," remarked Hoagemont, "And thank you for this… lovely gift. I'm certain she will not disappoint."

Oswald nodded, slightly bowed, and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Hoagemont was now alone with Paulina. He noticed that she was standing in a manner that seemed very difficult to maintain.

"No need to strike a pose to impress me," he told her, "You may ease down."

Paulina inwardly breathed a sigh of relief and rested on all four of her paws.

Hoagemont began walking around her in a circle. When he had first seen her in Room C, he had only got a few brief glimpses of her. Now, he could take the time to study every detail of her physique.

Her coat was nicely groomed. Her whiskers were perfectly aligned and her movements were very graceful. For a stray cat, she was rather appealing to look at.

"You seem to be in good health," Hoagemont commented, "And I cannot help but notice how sterile your fur is."

"Thank you, sir," Paulina remarked without emotion, "Macavity likes to make certain that all of his concubines do at the very least have a tolerable appearance."

"Most of the other queens in that room were filthy," Hoagemont recalled, "And, besides that, they looked as if they could not care less about their appearances."

"I know, sir," said Paulina, still staring at the wall in front of her, "Those are the ones that have given up. A great many of my associates in Room C have lost hope that they will ever get out of here."

"Have you?" Hoagemont asked. He stopped walking so he could look her in the eye.

Paulina's response was simple: "I don't know. I've been tempted to give up many a time, but I have not."

"Well, I would encourage you not to attempt escape," he cautioned her, "I have no history of losing anything or anyone I'm responsible for."

There was silence for a few moments as Hoagemont resumed circling Paulina. Now he began to study her a little more closely. From what he could tell, her age was somewhere between one-half and two-thirds of his age.

Paulina broke the silence when she said "Sir, if I might ask you something…"

Hoagemont nodded, saying "Go right ahead."

"Why did you select me?" she stated, "There are many queens in Room C that are more 'pleasing' than I am."

"Yes, there were," Hoagemont admitted, "But when I looked into your eyes, you caught my attention. Something was absent from your eyes; something that was present in everyone else's eyes."

"What might that be?" she asked.

He stopped in front of her again and told her "Fear. I knew that you were intimidated by me and the others at the time, but that's to be expected, given your living conditions. While I could tell that you were intimidated, there was no fear in your eyes. I was determined to find out why that was."

"You are correct, sir," she confirmed, "I am not afraid of you."

"Why is that?" he asked curiously, "You do know that if I wished to, I could just lunge at you right now and strangle you to death with my paws?"

"I have no doubt about that, sir," she remarked, "But I know you didn't have me moved here just so you could kill me."

"No, I did not," he agreed, "But all the same, I want to know how you can remain so rigid and fearless in your current situation."

"It's simple, sir," she replied, "I know nothing about you except that you were posted here as your fleet commander's ambassador. Why should I fear you if I know nothing about you?"

Hoagemont scoffed and stated "So you do not believe in such a thing as fear of the unknown. **That **is why you are unafraid."

"You are correct, sir," she confirmed his theory, "I see no point in fear of the unknown."

"Many human beings possess an innate fear of the unknown," Hoagemont informed her, "It is arguably one of the primary reasons why they are the dominant species on this planet. It's like this: humans see something they don't know and decide to study it, exploit it, or destroy it. There's rarely a fourth option."

"My parents never trusted humans," Paulina told him, "That is why we never tried finding a human home."

"Well, ironically, having a human caretaker would have kept you out of this place!" Hoagemont pointed out wittingly.

"I know," she told him. So far, Paulina had yet to raise her voice above room level. Every word she had spoken to Hoagemont was about as calm as one could get without being overconfident. She said "All the same, I do not fear you, sir."

Hoagemont leaned closer to her and muttered "I once discovered the very definition of fear. If you knew what it was, you would be unable to hold your anxieties in."

For once, Paulina seemed genuinely interested in what Hoagemont was talking about. "If I might ask another question sir… how did you discover fear?"

Hoagemont smirked and pointed to the scar on his face. He asked her "Do you know where I got this?"

She just shook her head; she honestly could not venture a guess.

"I told my colleagues that I got it in a knife fight at Growltiger's Last Stand," he explained, "However, that's only mostly true. I did get it at Growltiger's Last Stand, and I did get it in a knife fight, but it was not a knife that made the scar."

Paulina was really interested in where this was going. Hoagemont leaned a little closer and told her "What I am about to tell you is going to be kept between you and me alone. Is that understood?"

She replied straightforwardly "Yes, sir. I shall not tell another soul."

Good," said Hoagemont. Then he officially began his explanation: "Six months ago, I was one of the five hundred Siamese soldiers that assaulted Growltiger the Bravo Cat's vessel, the _Demagogue_, at Growltiger's Last Stand. Most of the vessel's crew was on shore leave at the time, but the skeleton crew that stayed behind put up a real fight. Around eighty of my colleagues were killed during the first confrontation. Before we had Growltiger walk the plank, Genghis had most of my company evacuate from the area. About sixty of us stayed behind to commandeer the _Demagogue_. After Growltiger's execution, we prepared to leave the area. But then a small group of Growltiger's crewmates that had been off the ship at the time came aboard. They planned to rob us of our prize by destroying the _Demagogue_."

He paused for a moment to gather his breath and continued "About half of the sixty Siamese that had remained on the _Demagogue_ were killed. One of my colleagues managed to spot this rather young white and brown tom that made his way to the navigations room on the bridge. My colleague went after him and broke down the door to the room. But before he could eliminate him, this brown and black crewmember killed my colleague by impaling him with a spear.

"That's when I moved in," he went on, "You see, I am an expert swordsman. I'm also quite skilled at knife-throwing. I usually carry a belt of assorted blades around. Anyway, I entered the navigations room and drew one of my knives. The black and brown tom pushed the younger tom out of the way just as I flung the knife at him. It sank directly into his chest, but did not kill him instantly. That was what I was going for; it's always better to let your enemy suffer a few moments before death takes them."

Paulina was clearly disgusted by those words, but she did not say anything. Hoagemont continued: "I threw another knife at the white and brown tom, but he ducked behind a computer console. When he dove out again, he threw a drinking glass directly at me. It shattered in my face, and for a few moments, I thought I was going blind. The younger tom then kicked me in the head to keep me on the ground and went to assist his friend. By the time he managed to find help, I regained my vision and my composure. I was going through **incredible **rage. I took another of my blades and ran out of the navigations room and back onto the main deck. But just before I could stab the white and brown tom through the chest, this black, white, and orange tom stopped me. He grabbed me by the throat and then… what happened next, I'm not certain I can really describe it in words."

Hoagemont paused for a while as he contemplated his description. Then he explained to Paulina "The tom gazed directly into my eyes. I was struggling to free myself from his grip, but no matter how hard I tried, I could not break free. However, breaking free soon became the least of my problems. When this tom looked into my eyes, I found that my eyes were in some type of direct connection with his own. I could not turn my attention away from them. Neither of us blinked for close to a whole minute. And in that minute… it was as if I enduring a living hell. In this tom's eyes, I saw so many emotions. Emotions of pure hatred, contempt, anguish, torture, and every other malevolent feeling you could imagine. However, none of them actually seemed to be radiating off of him. It was as if this tom was psychic and he was using some type of otherworldly power to send terrifying images into my mind. By the time he released me, I was so traumatized that I could not bring myself to fight him. So I ran off and retreated to another part of the deck."

This time, Hoagemont paused for a long interval. When this interval was over, he told Paulina "I eventually recovered from that trauma, but ever since that day, I have not taken fear for granted any more. Fear is something that can act as an ally instead of an enemy."

Paulina was speechless. She had taken in every word he had spoken, but I was all a little much for her to comprehend at one time.

"You have my sympathy, sir," she told him.

Hoagemont smirked and placed his front paw on her shoulder. He told her sternly "If I wanted your sympathy, I would ask you for it. Right now, I want something else from you."

"I believe I know what it is," Paulina remarked, gesturing towards Hoagemont's bed.

Hoagemont nodded and held his other front paw out to the bed, telling her "After you."

Slowly, Paulina approached the bed, Hoagemont following her close behind. He commented "I have high expectations. But I'm certain that you'll meet them."

…

Across town, Admetus, Tumblebrutus, and Pouncival had finally arrived in Ratcliff. They approached Geraldine's house, climbed over the wall, and jumped onto the ground inside.

"Remember, guys," Admetus told his two younger friends, "Let me do the talking first. Don't speak until I tell you to speak."

They both agreed, lightly rolling their eyes.

The three of them approached Geraldine's private shed, and Admetus knocked on it several times.

When the peach striped queen opened the door, she was expecting to see just one cat: the Rumpus Cat. When she saw that it was the Rumpus Cat plus two others, she was a little surprised.

Admetus told her reassuringly "There is no need to worry, my dear. These two gentletoms behind me are good friends."

"Why are they here?" she asked apprehensively.

"They hate the Siamese just as much as you do," he told her, "I told them about the Resistance, and both of them want to help us."

Geraldine stood thinking about this in the doorway for a while. Then she agreed and said "Alright, everybody come on inside."

The three toms stepped inside. Heurion was playing with a ball in the back of the shed.

"Heurion, could you please go play outside?" Geraldine requested, "Auntie needs to discuss business now."

"Alright, Aunt Geraldine," Heurion agreed brightly. He took his ball and went outside to play in the backyard.

"My nephew," she explained to Pouncival and Tumblebrutus, "Your friend here saved him from two Pollicles last night."

Pouncival and Tumblebrutus both knew of this beforehand, but decided not to say anything until Admetus gave them permission to talk to her.

When he gestured them to introduce themselves, they both stepped forward and held out their front paws.

"I'm Pouncival," said the grey, white, and brown tom.

"And I'm Tumblebrutus," said the white and brown tom.

"Pleased to meet you," smiled the peach striped queen, "My name is Geraldine. Though I must say, both of you are rather young. Are either of you of age?"

"I don't know if that's a 'consent' question," Pouncival joked, "But even if it is, no, ma'am; we have not quite reached our coming of age yet."

"But we will in just a few weeks," Tumblebrutus informed her, "However, that is not what's important. What's important is why we're here."

"Indeed it is," Geraldine agreed.

Admetus stepped forward and told her "I would have come alone tonight, but I'm afraid I have some matter of business that I must attend to in a different part of the city. So for at least tonight, these two gentletoms will carry the information for me."

Geraldine appeared to be a little skeptical about this idea, but she did not want to upset a potential ally, so she agreed to this arrangement.

Admetus turned back to his friends. Even though neither of them could see his eyes through his goggles, he could tell that he was looking at them with an expression that plainly said "Don't screw this up."

"I'll be back in a few hours," he announced, "We'll decide what to do from there."

The two younger toms agreed. Admetus opened the front door and left the shed. He returned to the front gate of Geraldine's house and ran off into the city.

After Geraldine closed the door, she gestured for the two young toms to take a seat. Both of them sat down waited for her to get comfortable.

"Just why are both of you so interested in being a part of the Resistance?" she enquired.

Tumblebrutus had anticipated this question. He sat up, held onto part of his necklace, and lifted it up. He asked rhetorically "Do you see this medallion, ma'am?"

"Yes, what is it?" said Geraldine.

"This is what I wore when I served under Growltiger the Bravo Cat," Tumblebrutus responded firmly.

Once again, Geraldine was stunned. She quietly uttered "You served under Growltiger?"

Tumblebrutus nodded and leaned back a little in his chair. He elucidated "I was his boatswain, and one of his most trusted officers, despite my relatively short time involved with him."

"But Growltiger was killed and the _Demagogue _captured six months ago," Geraldine pointed out, "You must have been a kitten at the time."

"I was," said Tumble, "But I was a little more mature than the average kitten of my age. You see, ever since birth, my brother here and I have possessed tremendous reflexes, speed, and agility. Those gifts caught Growltiger's attention when he first met me. Before I knew, I was climbing through the ranks at an unheard of pace. Unfortunately, as you know, Growltiger's domain was eventually purged by those filthy Siamese mongrels. I was dismissed by Commander Grumbuskin, who assumed responsibility of the surviving members of the crew upon the death of our Captain. He deemed me too young to live the life of an outcast like the others."

"That was a wise decision on his part, even if you do not agree with it," stated Geraldine, "While your dedication to your colleagues is admirable, I am certain Grumbuskin only had your safety in mind when he dismissed you."

"I know he did, but that doesn't mean I have to leave everything behind," said Tumblebrutus, "After all, when he gave me my honorable discharge, he left me this medallion and my sword. Someday I plan to be reunited with my former crewmates. I don't know when – if ever – that day will come, but my devotion to them will remain just as strong as my hatred for the Siamese fleet."

Geraldine nodded in interest. She then turned to Pouncival and asked him "What are your reasons for wishing to join the Siamese Resistance?"

"It's quite simple, ma'am," he explained to her, "My brother and I have always been good friends. Any friend of his is a friend of mine and vice versa. In that same manner… any enemy of his is any enemy of mine, as well. That includes those Siamese butchers. My brother tells me what they did at Hampton Court six months ago. They were responsible for sixty-nine deaths, most of them civilians. I'm not about to let them ruin this beautiful city with the presence of their filthy empire."

Geraldine found that both toms had excellent reasoning for wishing to join the Siamese Resistance.

"I believe you both have potential," she told them, "I will share any information I can with you."

She went to her filing cabinets and extracted several reports of Siamese activity in London from them.

For about a half hour, she exchanged some of her most pertinent findings with the two young toms. They took great notes and paid close attention to everything she told them.

At that same time, Heurion was out in the backyard playing. He concentrated his attention on catching some rather elusive fireflies and playing with his ball.

It was strange; a few days earlier, he had witnessed his entire family's abduction by Pollicles. For three days, he was left to wander the streets on his own. He had virtually given up hope by that point. Then a cat vigilante had saved him from two Pollicles and taken him to his Aunt's house.

Now he was playing in the backyard happily without a worry in his mind. That was one thing he had that the others did not: the innocence of kittenhood. He was the only one that was spared from knowing about the horrors of what was going on.

Little did he know that in just a few minutes, he would cause a great turn of events.

When Heurion was playing with his ball, at one point he accidentally batted it a little too hard. It rolled all the way to the back fence and rested there. He went to retrieve it.

Geraldine's house was built directly along the Thames River. About ten feet below the backyard, there was a stone walkway that acted as a shortcut from the docks in Shadwell to the docks in Limehouse. There were several flights of stone steps built along the base of the walkway; each one connected it to one part of the fence in each of the houses built alongside the river. One part of the backyard fence in each house could be opened up so that someone could walk directly down the steps to the walkway.

Heurion approached the fence and reclaimed his ball. He was about to go back to the center of the backyard when something caught his eye. Down in the waters below, something appeared to be approaching from the East. It was very dark outside, but Heurion's night vision was just as pristine as any other cat's. He looked a little closer, and saw that something – or perhaps, someone – was floating in the water below.

The backyard of this house had a few built-in headlights. These lights were the type that pointed straight up, but could be moved around the area. Heurion picked up one of them and shined it in the direction of the approaching object. That was when he could clearly make out what it was.

There was the body of a cat lying face-up on the surface of the water. The body was not moving in any way; the currents were making it travel down the Thames. Heurion could not tell if the cat was alive or dead, but if it was the former over the latter, he was not about to let that person die.

Heurion put the headlight down and ran over to his aunt's shed. He knocked on the door loudly and continuously.

Geraldine was still discussing the latest intelligence on Siamese activity with Pouncival and Tumblebrutus. When her nephew started knocking, she almost jumped in surprise.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" Pouncival enquired, noting how she seemed a little tense.

"Yes, but please forgive me; I just get surprised easily," she replied.

Geraldine went over to the door and opened it. She was a little annoyed for being interrupted, but all the same, she retained her gentle composure and asked her nephew sweetly "What is it, Heurion?"

"Aunt Geraldine, I think there's someone in the water." he replied quickly.

Geraldine raised an eyebrow in interest. She asked him "What do you mean?"

"There's a body floating in this direction," her nephew clarified, "However, I'm not entirely certain that the person's dead. Even though the body is relatively peaceful, it is laying face-up in the waters."

"Is it a Siamese?" Geraldine questioned quickly.

"No, I got a good look at the cat's face," Heurion replied, "It's definitely not a Siamese cat."

"Then I'm not about to let that person die," Geraldine decided, "We'll try to fish them out."

Tumblebrutus and Pouncival rose to their feet. The latter said "We'd like to offer you our assistance, ma'am."

"Thank you," said Geraldine gratefully, "I'll probably need it."

The four cats made their way to the fence in the backyard. Geraldine climbed up a tree and hopped onto the top of the fence. Even though the top part of the fence was very, very thin, Geraldine managed to walk across it with plenty of agility and speed.

She approached the part of the fence that could be opened and undid the latch. Slowly, the fence slid open from the inside.

As Geraldine hopped back onto the ground in the backyard, her nephew went back over to the headlight. He picked it up and returned to the open part of the fence with his aunt.

One-by-one, the four cats descended the stone steps to make their way to the walkway below. Once they were all there, Geraldine asked Heurion "Where exactly did you see the body?"

He shined the headlight at the spot where he had last seen the figure. It had not moved much in the past few minutes; it was merely drifting.

"I think we'll be able to bring the body in," speculated Tumblebrutus, "Only problem is that there's about a hundred feet of water between it and us."

"How will we do that?" enquired Heurion.

"I don't suppose you have a makeshift canoe?" Pouncival asked Geraldine, "Or even a real one?"

"I once did," she replied, "But I had to store it in the basement of my human's house. Couldn't risk the Siamese turning up and finding it."

"What makes you so certain that they would find it out here or in your backyard?" asked Tumble.

"Ever since taking over the Thames, the Siamese have been subjecting cats who live along the river to random inspections," Geraldine explained, "Anyone with an unlicensed boat of any sort is placed under arrest."

"Damn it," Pounce muttered under his breath.

"Do you have any ropes?" Tumble queried, "Maybe we could throw a rope from here and attempt to lasso the body with it."

"From seventy-five feet away?" Pouncival pointed out, "That seems a little unlikely, Tumble."

"Oh, right," Tumble nodded, scratching his head.

"I guess our only remaining option is to swim out and retrieve it on our own," Geraldine concluded.

"That sounds like a good idea," Heurion stated, "There's only one problem: who here knows how to swim?"

It then occurred to the other three that most cats were innately very bad swimmers.

"I can swim," Tumblebrutus answered, "I'm a pretty fair swimmer, but I'm afraid I cannot seventy-five feet from the shore."

"I could probably swim that far," Pouncival theorized, "But I don't think I could swim back with a body in tow."

"Well, neither my nephew nor I can swim either," Geraldine remarked, "I don't think anyone in our family has ever really learned how."

"Then we'll just have to find someone who can swim," Heurion concluded, "Let's just hope they'd be willing to help us."

"I guess that's our only alternative," Pouncival agreed, "But I don't know anyone who lives in this region."

"Neither do I," admitted Tumblebrutus.

"I have several friends in this area," Geraldine told them, "But I'm not certain that any of them would be willing or able to help us here."

Pouncival looked further down the river in the direction the body was headed. In the distance, he could make out a couple of figures on the walkway.

Pouncival pointed out the two figures to the others. Heurion shined the headlight down the river. Sure enough, they were approaching the group of four.

Geraldine turned to face the three young toms and instructed them "Stay here. I'll go investigate. Maybe they'll be willing to assist us."

Tumblebrutus, Pouncival, and Heurion stayed near the stone steps while Geraldine ran towards the two approaching cats.

Both of the cats were toms. They wore backpacks and belts fitted with armaments. One was a red and white tabby; the other was brown and yellow striped. The latter was reading something aloud from a piece of paper.

"The house should be less than a hundred meters in front of us," he informed his colleague.

"Excellent," stated the other tom, "I certainly hope that we will not be given **another **set of directions after this; we'll probably wind up covering all of London before morning!"

His partner scoffed and said flatly "Perhaps we just might do that."

The red and white tabby suddenly stopped his colleague and told him "Wait. Someone's coming."

The brown and yellow tom looked up from the paper and saw a peach striped queen rushing towards them.

As a precautionary gesture, the two toms both placed on of their front paws on the hilts of their swords, ready to draw them in case of a conflict.

But the queen did not demonstrate any sign of aggression. She just quickly approached the two toms and stopped running when she was directly in front of them. She stated anxiously "Excuse me, sirs, but I must ask you something: Can either of you swim?"

The two toms looked at each other; both were a little stunned. One could hardly blame them, as it was unusual for to be asked such a question by a complete stranger.

The yellow and brown tom replied "I'm afraid I cannot swim very well, ma'am."

However, the red and white tabby answered "Yes, I can swim; I was expertly trained how to swim in my kittenhood. Why do you ask, my lady?"

"My nephew spotted a body in the river," Geraldine briefly explained, "He believes there's a possibility that the person is still alive. Unfortunately, we have no way to bring the body to shore."

"How far out from the walkway is the body?" queried the red and white tabby.

"About seventy-five feet," answered Geraldine, "If it is not too much trouble, sir, I'd like to ask of you a favor: Can you please help us save that person?"

The red and white tabby stood thinking about this for a moment. It had been a long day, and he was very tired. He was not entirely certain about this task.

After about thirty seconds of considering the options, he told Geraldine "Alright, I'll do it."

"Thank you, sir," she told him gratefully.

The three of them returned to the place on the walkway where Tumblebrutus, Pouncival, and Heurion were waiting. The three of them were not especially interested in who they were as much as whether or not they were Siamese cats. Fortunately, they were not.

Geraldine had Heurion shine his headlight out into the waters. When the beam of light hit the body, they could clearly see it.

Moving quickly, the red and white tabby removed both his belt and his backpack. He stretched his body a little and dived into the Thames. The water was very cold, but he ignored its temperature and started paddling towards the body.

In less than a minute, he reached the body. It was a young gold and brown queen. She appeared to have an open wound on her side.

The red and white tom pulled her close and felt her neck for a pulse. After a few moments of searching, he was able to register it.

"She's still alive!" he called out to the cats on the walkway, "I'm bringing her in!"

The tabby took one of the queen's front legs and threw it over his shoulder. He held onto her with his left arm and started paddling back to the walkway with his right arm.

The surface of the water was about two feet below the curb of the walkway. When the red and white tom got close to the walkway, he called out to the others "I'm going to lift her into the air. I need somebody to pull her up!"

Tumblebrutus and Pouncival stepped forward. The latter told the red and white tom "Alright, go ahead! We're ready to receive her!"

The red and white tom braced himself against the side of the walkway and lifted the unconscious gold and brown queen into the air. Pouncival and Tumblebrutus took her by her shoulders and lifted her up.

Once they had the queen safely on the walkway, the yellow and brown tom went over to the side and held his arm out to his colleague. The red and white tom took it and hoisted himself back onto the walkway.

The yellow and brown tom then returned his partner's belt and backpack to him. The red and white tabby opened his backpack and took out a towel. He started drying himself off.

Tumblebrutus and Pouncival gently laid the queen on the ground and examined her for injuries.

"She's wounded, but other than that, she mostly seems to be alright," announced Pouncival, mostly to the two new toms, "I guess we've got you to thank for that."

"Maybe whenever she wakes up, we can find out what happened," Tumblebrutus suggested, "I for one would like to know how she was wounded in the first place."

When the red and white tabby heard those words, he froze. Tumblebrutus's voice sounded incredibly familiar to him. He removed his towel from around his face and looked more closely at the young tom.

He looked so familiar, but he was sure that it could not possibly be who he thought it was. At least, not until he saw the medallion around the brown and white tom's neck.

That was when he was certain that his initial assumption was correct.

"Tumblebrutus?" said the red and white tom, "Is that you?"

At first, Tumblebrutus was quite surprised that one of the toms knew his name. But then he started focusing on the two toms' appearances. Almost immediately, he realized who it was that he was talking to. He had not seen these toms in six months, but he would recognize them anywhere.

Tumble uttered in shock just loudly enough for everyone to hear "Ralpharite? Roshedam?"

**Review, please!**


	19. In His Eyes

**Note: Once again, I apologize for the long wait. I'm not going to waste your time with my excuses, so I'll just say that I've been busy. By the way, I'll be using another song in this chapter. It's a short song from the 1980's written by Pseudo Echo. The name of the song is "His Eyes." The song was written for the movie Friday the 13****th**** V: A New Beginning, and it describes the slasher in the movies, Jason Voorhees. I thought this song could apply to another certain individual as well, so I put it in this chapter.**

**Here's the link to the video: http:/ / www . youtube . com / watch?v=Hf7uI0UZLc0&feature=related**

**(Remove the spaces)**

**I should warn you, though; this version of it is rather graphic (it's a series of clips from the fifth movie, and several of the murders are among them). If you'd prefer a less violent version, here's another link:**

**http:/ / www . youtube . com/watch?v=5TnbKTvD9ZE**

**(Once again, remove the spaces)**

**Now, on with the chapter!**

There was a long, uninterrupted pause on the walkway. Seven cats were gathered there. One of them was unconscious.

Two more of them had just arrived, and they were complete strangers to three of the others.

But the last of them was slowly becoming more and more excited with every passing second.

Soon, Tumblebrutus, and the two new toms were laughing jovially. They laughed the way one would laugh when placed in an extremely awkward or ironic position. That was exactly the type of position the three of them were in.

Pouncival, Geraldine, and Heurion were very confused by the reactions from the others. They were nothing short of perplexed.

Once the laughter died down between the three other toms, Pouncival asked his brother "Tumble… what the hell is going on?"

Tumblebrutus smiled at his brother and simply told him "Pounce, the improbable just happened."

"How so?" queried Pouncival.

"I worked with these two gentletoms on my last assignment when I served under Growltiger," Tumblebrutus enlightened him. He gestured towards the yellow and brown tom and stated "This is Roshedam. He was our contact in Hampton when our group travelled there. He gave us shelter for our stay there, and we found him looking after… something very important to Growltiger."

"I see," commented Pouncival as the yellow and brown tom saluted him in greeting. Wanting to appear receptive, Pouncival saluted back.

"And this is Ralpharite," Tumblebrutus introduced the red and white tom, "He was the _Demagogue_'s Intelligence Officer, and one of the key members of our crew."

Tumble then turned back to the two toms and told them "Rosh, Ralph, I'd like you to meet my brother, Pouncival."

The two of them both shook paws with Pouncival and remarked "Pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"The pleasure is mine," Pouncival replied genially.

Tumblebrutus looked up at his comrades and stated "Now, if you don't mind me asking, what the hell are you doing here?"

"It's a ridiculously long story," answered Ralpharite, "I'll just tell you right now that we were directed to this district by a group known as the 'Siamese Resistance.'"

"You were?" Geraldine remarked. That was the first time she had spoken up since the gold and brown queen had been fished out of the river.

"Yes, ma'am," said Roshedam, holding up some creased papers, "We just met with one of the founders of the Resistance, and he gave us these directions to come here."

"Let me see those, please," Geraldine requested.

Roshedam handed them over to her. She examined them closely and after a moment, thought aloud "Oh, so Peter sent you here?"

"Yes, that was his name," Ralpharite answered in a little puzzlement, "How do you know him?"

"I'm another member of the Resistance, sir," she replied, "Peter contacted me yesterday and told me to expect two adult toms to arrive sometime between ten and eleven o'clock."

"Very well," remarked Roshedam, "So, what do we do now?"

"You will stay here in Ratcliff, gentlemen, until we have everything sorted out," Geraldine explained, "There are several aspects of the Siamese Resistance that Peter did not tell you about. Those are the ones he asked me to explain in his stead."

"Alright then," Ralpharite nodded, shouldering his backpack again "I'm just glad we don't have to follow another set of directions. We've been on our feet all day."

"Then come up to my house," Geraldine offered, gesturing to the stone steps that led up to her backyard, "It would be much more ideal to discuss business up there than out here in the open."

"I concur," stated Ralpharite. He walked over to the unconscious gold and brown queen and announced "But first, this queen needs attention. I'll have to examine her wounds. Could somebody help me carry her up the steps?"

Roshedam, Tumblebrutus, and Pouncival helped the red and white tabby lift the queen up off the ground. Working together, they carefully carried her up to stone steps to Geraldine's backyard. Heurion and Geraldine followed them close behind, and once they were all in the backyard once more, Geraldine closed the gate and fastened the latch.

"Bring her inside my shed," she instructed Ralpharite, "There's an extra bed you can lie her down on."

Ralpharite nodded and carried the gold and brown queen inside. After using his towel to dry her off as best he could, he gently laid her down on the bed.

Tumblebrutus then turned to his brother and stated "Pounce, I have a small request."

"Name it, Tumble," replied the slightly younger tom.

"Do you suppose that you could handle gathering any more information from Geraldine by yourself?" asked Tumblebrutus, "It's just been so long since I've seen my comrades, and I want to catch up on current events with them."

"Sure, Tumble," nodded Pouncival, "I understand your feelings exactly. If I had been reunited with someone close after six months, I would want to know everything they've been up to as well."

Everybody soon got settled in. Heurion stayed inside with his Aunt this time. He was with her and Pouncival in the first room. The adult queen discussed more details pertaining to the activities of the Resistance with the young tom. Roshedam and Tumblebrutus were in the second room, where the former enlightened the latter on recent events in Hampton, as well as the news of the recent happenings in London. Ralpharite and Vecinha (you've probably guessed that the queen Ralpharite rescued was Vecinha; you are correct) were in the third room. He examined her wounds and then he examined the rest of her, looking for any abnormalities.

After about ten minutes went by, Tumblebrutus looked into the other room and saw Ralpharite using some doctor's tools to look inside Vecinha's mouth and ears.

"I didn't know you were trained medically, Ralph," commented Tumblebrutus.

"He wasn't until a few weeks ago," Roshedam told the younger tom.

"What do you mean?" queried Tumble.

"There's not that much to do in Hampton," Ralpharite explained as he continued to examine Vecinha, "So I got some lessons in biology and medicine from Najalim and Quaftil. I always like to take up a new skill whenever I can."

"Smart thinking," remarked Roshedam, "You should just be grateful you have so much free time, Ralph; you're not the one who has a kitten to look out for."

"'A kitten?'" noted Tumblebrutus, "I would have thought that Dawlimer, Scurtena, and Bellazni would at least be young adults by now."

"I'm not talking about **them**, Tumblebrutus," scoffed Roshedam, "I'm no longer their caretaker. Instead, I'm more like a roommate or a close friend. At least I am with Dawlimer and Bellazni. But Scurtena and I… well, we became mates shortly after she came of age."

"That's lovely, but what's all this about a kitten?" Tumble asked in interest. Before Roshedam could respond, the answer slowly came to the young white and brown tom on its own. He smirked at Roshedam and said "Am I to assume that Growltiger has a grandchild?"

"Yes, several weeks ago, Scurtena gave birth to our son," said Roshedam, "We named him Kingsley."

"Excellent name," said Tumble, "But I wonder what Growltiger would think of that?"

"Knowing the Captain, he probably wouldn't object," Ralpharite commented from the next room as he continued his examination on Vecinha, "Especially when considering Roshedam's lineage."

"His lineage?" said Tumble, "What about it?"

"Oh, I almost forgot to mention something even more astounding," Roshedam stated. He was not entirely certain how to tell Tumblebrutus about the next interesting piece of information, so he chose his words carefully. "Tumblebrutus, did Grumbuskin ever tell you about his mate Linnota?"

Tumblebrutus thought back carefully and replied "Yes, on the night I joined the crew, in fact."

"What did he tell you?" queried Roshedam.

"Nothing much," said Tumble, "Just that the two of them were expecting a kitten some three or four years ago and she suffered a miscarriage while he was a prisoner of the Siamese fleet. I only know as much as Grumbuskin himself does."

"Actually, Tumble, you don't," said Roshedam, "Linnota did not have a miscarriage. Her kitten was taken from her by Animal Control. He was raised by two complete strangers who loved him and cared for him as their own. He grew up knowing that he was adopted, but never once did he think he would be reunited with his father, even after his foster parents' deaths."

Tumblebrutus raised an eyebrow in amazement. "How do you know all this?"

"Because that 'kitten' just so happens to be the one that looked after Growltiger's own children and even became the mate of one of them," Ralpharite called from the next room.

Tumblebrutus practically froze. Gradually, the two toms' message came through to him. Even after embracing the concept, he could not bring himself to believe it.

"Roshedam, you're Grumbuskin's son?" was all he could mutter.

"Indeed I am," said the yellow and brown tom, "I myself could not believe it either, Tumble, but Grumbuskin had Najalim and Quaftil conduct a DNA test between us. It was a positive match. The timing works out. Everything checks out. I am Grumbuskin's son."

"Wow, that is freakin' insane," said Tumble, "I don't think I could take any more surprises. On that note, how has Grumbuskin taken the news of becoming a grandfather? Have you spoken to him recently?"

This was one topic that Ralpharite and Roshedam knew was inevitable, but they still dreaded talking about it. The two toms looked at each other from the rooms and Roshedam asked his best friend "Should I tell him or do you want to?"

"Tell me what?" asked Tumble, becoming a little concerned by their sudden change in behavior. "Guys, what's going on?"

"I'll tell him," Ralpharite finally responded. He turned fully towards Tumblebrutus and leaned against the doorframe. He breathed in deeply and said "Tumble… we've yet to tell you the reason why we're here in London in the first place. So, we'll save you the trouble of waiting in anticipation any longer and tell you straight out: Grumbuskin's been taken prisoner."

Before this moment, Tumblebrutus was already undergoing an excessive amount of surprise. Now he was just downright flabbergasted and shocked.

"WHAT?" he yelled, making nearly everyone jump, "By who? The Siamese?"

"No, no, not by the Siamese," said Roshedam, "He was taken prisoner by Macavity."

"When did this happen?" Tumble almost demanded from them.

"About three months ago, he took his entire group of twenty-four and assaulted Macavity's hideout," Ralpharite explained, "He had been informed that Genghis was there on this particular night, and he wanted to make certain that that Mongolian piece of shit never lived out the night."

"How many of them survived?" asked Tumblebrutus in worry.

"None," Roshedam stated bluntly, "All of them were killed except Grumbuskin. For whatever reason, Macavity wanted him alive, so he made him his prisoner."

"You mean no one else in his group survived the battle?" Tumblebrutus uttered in complete disbelief.

"Well, Griddlebone was with him at the time," Ralpharite recalled, "We only know about this massacre from what she told us. She says that Macavity took her prisoner as well, but offered to release her on the condition that she become one of his agents. She hesitantly agreed to the offer, and returned to Hampton as soon as she was released. But she had to go back at least once a week, as Macavity warned her not to try to escape from him, and that he would be able find her no matter where she went."

"Holy shit," muttered Tumblebrutus, "I still can't believe Grumbuskin's a prisoner of Macavity! I mean, how could he do something so rash as attacking Macavity's warehouse when he knew he was vastly outnumbered?"

"Griddlebone also acted as the liaison between our two groups before the attack," Ralpharite clarified, "She had expressed some concerns that Grumbuskin was becoming more and more obsessed with the idea of killing Genghis as time went by. My guess is that by the time he was informed of Genghis' presence at Macavity's warehouse, he was determined not to let him live out the night."

"At least he managed to kill Genghis in the attack," Roshedam pointed out, "Griddlebone was sure to mention that to us."

"But if Genghis is dead, then who's leading the Siamese fleet?" queried Tumble.

"Officially, the current fleet commander is Mouveilyr, who served as Genghis' second-in-command before he was killed," Ralpharite replied, "However, due to the nature surrounding Genghis' death – such as where and when he died – Macavity has taken control of the Siamese fleet all on his own."

"Oh, damnit," said Tumblebrutus, "As if our problems weren't plentiful enough."

"Fortunately, Griddlebone's involvement with Macavity has given us access to inside information about his hideout," Roshedam took over, "We're working on a plan to break Grumbuskin out of there. That's the whole reason why we're here. But we need the help of the Resistance to do it."

"And you shall have it, gentlemen," Geraldine called out from the next room, "Any enemy of the Siamese fleet is a potential ally of the Resistance."

"Thank you, madam," said Roshedam, "You have no idea how grateful we would be if you helped us."

Ralpharite turned back to Vecinha and continued to examine her.

…

Back at Macavity's warehouse, Hoagemont was sitting at his desk, recording a piece of his journal log verbally. Paulina was lying on the bed, watching him do it. She was lying on top of the covers, her head resting against one of the pillows.

Hoagemont was speaking into the small microphone on his computer: "Still no word from the fleet on the American test subject who broke out earlier this evening. I've been informed that the search for her will be as long and thorough as it needs to be. Despite the fact that Fleet Commander Mouveilyr has asked me not to involve Macavity's agents in this, the Hidden Paw himself wishes to know how the search goes. A few minutes ago, I got the approval for this request from Mouveilyr. He's given me complete authorization to keep Macavity apprised of the search, mostly due to the concern he shows for it. On a side note, about fifteen minutes ago, I sampled one of Macavity's concubines. I had high expectations for her, and I must say; I was very satisfied with what she gave me. Granted, this was her first time to become intimate, she is obviously well-versed in methods of pleasure. I don't know if she was taught those or learned them overtime, but I believe she must have had significant prior knowledge of the concept of mating."

Hoagemont paused for a moment, and then said into the microphone "End journal log: Lieutenant Commander Hoagemont, 2230 hours."

Hoagemont then turned off the microphone, removed a large disk from the computer module, and placed it in a container labeled "Log Entries."

"I'm glad to know I met your expectations, sir," Paulina responded nonchalantly from the bed.

He turned in his chair to face her and smirked, saying "You should be. I have a history of using strict disciplinary actions on anyone who fails to carry out my orders or meet my expectations."

"Do you always record the activities of your day on that device?" she asked him.

"Most of the time, yes, I do," he replied, "I like to keep this vocal journal for two reasons: I can look back on current matters that might relate to past important events, and because I enjoy documenting my day. Most of my log entries are short, but I always cover the essential topics, as well as the most interesting ones."

"Fascinating, sir," Paulina remarked, "You must really have a good life if you actually want to look back on your day."

"What does that mean?" Hoagemont asked, raising an eyebrow in perplexity.

"I don't think I would ever want to look back on a single day of my life," she eluciated, "I don't like to think about my childhood or my upbringing in this place."

"So, you cannot think of any point in your life that is worth reflecting on because of its consistently negative atmosphere?" he assumed.

"That is the case exactly, sir," she confirmed, "However, being with my mother at least made me feel at ease."

"Where is your mother now?" Hoagemont enquired, leaning back in his chair a little.

"She and I were both picked up by the Pollicles several weeks ago," stated Paulina, "When Macavity sorted us out, he sent me to Room C. My best friend and her younger brother were picked up at the same time as us. They both went to Room A. I don't know why, but the henchcats always emphasize how 'unfortunate' it would be if we were ever transferred to Room A. As for my mother… Macavity spent a good amount of time deciding her destination, but ultimately went with Room G. I haven't seen any of them since then."

Hoagemont sat up a little and looked Paulina in the eye from across the room. He told her straight out "Your best friend and her brother are dead. Room A is the Extermination Room."

Paulina was inwardly saddened by this, but being someone who was so used to tragic and unfortunate events, she simply remarked "I suppose they were bound to die sooner or later."

Hoagemont remained sitting his chair and told Paulina "As for your mother… I am not entirely certain. There were only a little more than a dozen cats in Room G. I believe Room G was the Sorcerer Room."

This detail seemed to catch Paulina's attention. She sat up a little and asked him "What does that mean – Sorcerer Room?"

"I myself am not entirely certain what it means," Hoagemont replied honestly, "I just know that it has something to do with mystical cats. However, this might provide you with some relief: based on what I saw, the cats in Room G seem to be under the least amount of pain."

"That does bring me a modicum of relief," Paulina stated, "I just hope she's holding out well."

There was a short interval of silence between the two of them. Then Hoagemont stood up and asked Paulina "Are you tired?"

"Not really, sir," she stated.

"Then perhaps you will accompany me to another room?" he stated.

Paulina sat up more and asked in confusion "What do you mean, sir?"

"You are not confined to this room," he told her, "But you are only allowed out of it if you have my permission."

Paulina did not answer him straight away. After a few minutes, she enquired "Is that a request or a demand, sir?"

He just smirked and told her "Use your better judgment and decide for yourself."

Paulina hesitated. Truth be told, she was exhausted. Mating for the first time took a lot of energy out of her, even though Hoagemont had been surprisingly gentle with her.

However, she did not want to risk getting on his bad side, lest she refused him a reasonable request.

She got up and walked over to him, saying "If you wish it, sir, I shall follow you."

Hoagemont remained smirking and stood up on the ground. He patted her on the shoulder and said "You have excellent judgment."

He went to his desk, picked up his belt, and fastened it around his waist. Then he went to the door and opened it up, gesturing for her to step out.

Paulina was surprised by how Hoagemont was suddenly being such a gentletom to her. But rather than question his shift in behavior, she decided to enjoy it as a privilege while it lasted.

After Paulina stepped outside the room, Hoagemont followed her. He closed the door, locked it, and put the key in a pouch in his belt.

"Where are we going?" Paulina enquired as they travelled down the hall.

"The henchcat lounge," he told her.

The two of them walked on without another word spoken.

The lounge was only partially full when they arrived in it. There were about thirty henchcats total in the room. Some were playing billiards, some were playing cards, some were listening to the music emanating from a normal-sized jukebox, and a few pairs of the opposite gender were spending some private time together in darkened parts of the room.

Oswald, Sydney, and Fritz were sitting on some couches in the center of the room, swapping jokes with each other.

Fritz was the first to notice Hoagemont and Paulina enter the room. He pointed them out to his colleagues. When Oswald saw the pair enter the room, he called out "Commander, over here!"

Hoagemont saw the group of toms and walked over to them, Paulina close behind.

"Good evening, gentlemen," he greeted the four toms, "Would you mind if we sat down here?"

"Go ahead, sir," said Sydney, gesturing to two empty spots on one of the couches, "We've no shortage of room here."

Hoagemont sat down next to Oswald on one of the couches. Paulina sat on the other side of him.

"Was she satisfactory, sir?" asked the grey and silver tom, gesturing towards Paulina.

"She was actually very good for a first-timer," replied the Siamese ambassador. "Where are your colleagues?"

"Which ones?" asked Sydney, "We've got loads of coworkers."

"Macavity's other bodyguards," Hoagemont clarified.

"I know for a fact that Xerxes is working out," responded Fritz, "Delondo and Falazea are spending some time together elsewhere, Burkin is leading an inspection of the new recruits, and Ullick is currently guarding the Boss."

"What do you gentlemen do when you're not guarding your Boss?" queried Hoagemont, "I imagine that you have other duties to perform around here besides a three-hour shift watching your leader's back."

"Of course we have more than that, sir," said Fritz, "I just told you that Burkin is heading an inspection of the new recruits. We do that quite often."

"We also supervise the activities of certain groups of the other henchcats whenever they're handling a very important assignment," Sydney expounded, "Anything goes wrong, we report it to Macavity immediately."

"I'd say our biggest responsibility outside of guarding the Boss pertains to combat," stated Oswald, "Whenever there's a battle, he has us leading the other henchcats on the front line."

"Obviously you gentlemen do more than I gave you credit for," stated Hoagemont, nodding his head in approval of their answers.

"We do what we can, sir," Oswald remarked.

Hoagemont turned to his front. He noticed a painting on the wall at the far end of the room. It was rather large; about eight feet by five feet in area. It was a picture of a red and gold cat. The cat in the painting was surrounded by fire, and there were hunched-over figures all around him.

"If you don't mind me asking, what is that painting?" stated Hoagemont, pointing at the wall.

The three henchcats looked over in that direction. Sydney replied "Oh, that's just a painting the kits made for the Boss."

"Kits?" said Hoagemont "What kits?"

"The other henchcats' children," Fritz clarified.

Once again, Hoagemont's attention was diverted to something more interesting than what it was already focused on. "You mean that some of the henchcats here actually have children?"

"That is true, Commander," Oswald confirmed, "But less than ten percent of all henchcats here have children. And only about fifteen percent have or ever had a mate. You see, around here, people are skeptical about forming close relationships with each other. Mostly because of the Boss."

"Why?" asked Hoagemont, "Does he discourage these relationships because he thinks they may end up distracting his henchcats from their responsibilities and impairing their judgment?"

"Oh, no, sir; quite the contrary," Sydney responded, "Macavity actually encourages them, because he sees these relationships as a type of insurance policy."

"'An insurance policy?'" repeated Hoagemont.

"Yes, sir," stated Fritz, "You see, if a pair of lovers get close enough in their relationship, it can come to the point where they care more for each other than for themselves. Macavity uses that as a potential weakness against both parties. If one of them threatens to quit or leave the organization without his dismissal, he simply threatens the other one to change the first individual's mind."

"It works even better if kittens are involved," said Sydney, "You see, Macavity is more than just our Boss. He is in a way a caretaker to all of his henchcats. Some would argue that he serves us just as much as we serve him. In that same way, he always makes certain that the children of each of his henchcats are kept safe and looked after. However, if at any point a parent henchcat tries to go directly against the Boss, their children's lives are in extreme jeopardy. Macavity can exploit any relationship to his best ability. That's one of the reasons why he's kept this organization together for as long as he has."

"Believe me, sir, even if I ever wanted to have kittens, I would never bring them up in a place like this," Oswald informed the Siamese tom, "In fact, the other week, Delondo told me he had suspicions about Falazea; that she might have been pregnant with his litter. The two of them almost panicked out of their minds. Not because of the pressure of the responsibility, but because of the way the Boss might have reacted. Turns out it was a false alarm, though. But this wasn't their first false alarm. For their sakes, let's hope it's their last. Otherwise, Macavity might make their lives much, MUCH more complicated."

"I must say, your Boss is a very complex individual," stated Hoagemont, "I have only been observing him for the past day, and I've already made numerous assumptions about him."

"Like what?" asked Fritz.

Hoagemont responded with: "He's protective yet domineering, modest yet proud, assertive yet astute, judgmental yet incisive, and idealistic yet meticulous."

"That we can all concur with, sir," said Sydney, "Our boss is perhaps the most unusual person you will ever meet. It's actually hard even for **us **– his bodyguards – to determine what his personality can be described as."

"If I were to venture a guess, I would say that he has no specific persona," stated Fritz, "Perhaps he has several different personalities mixed together."

"That's a very interesting way of thinking about it all," said Hoagemont, "But is there any real way you can describe him?"

The three henchcats sat thinking for close to a minute. Then Oswald got an idea.

"Well, sir, there is this one song I once heard in a human movie," he told the ambassador, "It was very brief, but everything about the song was eerie and frightening, somewhat like our boss. At least when he's in a bad mood, that is. But all joking aside, I think that the song almost perfectly matches our Boss."

"What's the name of the song?" asked Hoagemont.

"I believe it is called 'His Eyes' by a band named Pseudo Echo," Oswald replied, "They were very popular in the 1980s. Not so much these days."

"I've never heard of the song," Hoagemont admitted, "Do you suppose you could… hum a few bars?"

Oswald smirked and said "I'd be glad to do more than that, sir."

At that moment, the song on the jukebox ended. The cat standing by the machine asked around the room "Anybody have any requests?"

Oswald looked over at that cat and called out "Does that thing have a karaoke mode?"

"Yeah, it does," his colleague answered.

"Could you put on 'His Eyes' by Pseudo Echo on karaoke mode?" requested Oswald.

The cat nodded and placed the song on.

**(Okay, now you can play the music video. Truth be told, I actually imagined Oswald's voice to be something similar to the voice of the guy who sings this song)**

Everybody in the room stopped whatever they were doing at looked at Oswald. He just leaned against his raised right arm and waited for the song to begin.

Slow, unnerving music began playing. The sound of an electric guitar soon took over. A certain beat repeated several times over.

After about a minute of this eerie music, Oswald began singing:

"There was a tom so cold, no life was in his eyes…  
He had a look so hard, I'd never seen him smile…  
I could've told you then, you'd heard it all before…  
And now you're in suspense, you'll have to wait for more."

The music got a little more energetic and Oswald sang:

"In all those mysteries, you're taken by surprise…  
You never thought to see that look was in his eyes…"

Oswald then pointed at the picture of Macavity with his left front paw when he sang the next line:

"There's a tom with no life in his eyes.

There's a tom with no life in his eyes."

There was a short rest while the music continued. Oswald lowered his left arm and went on:

"I was the only one who chanced it from the start…  
There was an evil sense, I swallowed to my heart…  
And as I took the vow a thought had come to mind…  
There was a winter mist, I dared not look behind"

The chorus returned:

"In all those mysteries you're taken by surprise…  
You never thought to see that look was in his eyes…"

Once again, Oswald pointed at the painting again and sang:

"There's a tom with no life in his eyes.

There's a tom with no life in his eyes."

After that line, the music continued on a varying pitch for about fifteen seconds. Then the original music from the start of the song returned.

The song went right back to the chorus then. Oswald sang:

"In all those mysteries you're taken by surprise…

You never thought to see that look was in his eyes…

It's his eyes… It's his eyyyyyyyes…"

He continued pointing at the painting as he sang:

"There's a tom with no life in his eyes…

There's a tom with no life in his eyes.

There's a tom with no life in his eyes.

There's a tom with no life in his eyyyyyyyyes…"

Then the music came to a slow halt and the song ended.

There was silence for a few moments. Then they heard one solitary pair of paws clapping. The sound came from the entrance of the room.

Everyone turned and saw that the person clapping was in fact Macavity himself.

Oswald almost felt himself break into a nervous sweat.

Macavity just grinned in amusement and entered the room. He commented "Excellent song choice, Oswald. I actually thought that song described me very well."

"I'm glad you liked it… sir," Oswald hastily remarked.

Macavity was accompanied by Xerxes and Ullick.

The three of them walked over to the couch to join the others.

"Commander, would you care to pay a little visit to Grumbuskin now?" offered Macavity.

Hoagemont grinned mischievously and replied "I would indeed like to see him, sir."

Macavity looked around at the five bodyguards that were presently assembled in the room and said "Ullick, Xerxes, come with us. Sydney, Fritz, you may remain at ease. Oswald, it's exactly eleven o'clock. Your shift has begun."

"Yes, sir, of course," nodded the grey and silver tom. He got up and stood next to his Boss.

Hoagemont stood up and joined the group, Paulina following him close behind.

"I hope you don't mind it, sir, if she joins us?" said Hoagemont.

Macavity shrugged and stated "The more, the merrier."

**Review, please! I honestly want to know; was this chapter worth the wait? Or did you have higher expectations? What did you think of the song? I personally have only seen the first two Friday the 13****th**** films, but you don't have to be a hardcore fan of the franchise to know about the existence of that song.**


	20. Drawn In

**Note: Again… sorry for the wait. Now that summer's started, I plan to do updates more often. It'll depend on how my summer goes. By the way, BlueSky509, I apologize if I disappointed you in the last chapter. However, I want to be very frank: I don't really care that much for fluff. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy it, but usually when it's only used as part of a story's subplot, or when it directly ties into the main plot. And while I always try to appease my most loyal readers, please respect the fact that this is MY fanfic and I'll decide by myself when to insert fluff (I don't want to come off as hostile or annoyed; I just couldn't find any way to put in some fluff in the previous chapter without accelerating the storyline at an unacceptable pace). All the same, I'll do my best to get around to some fluff soon. There won't be that much in this chapter, but I can assure you there will be more than enough to suffice in the next one!**

At the Jellicle Tribe, Bustopher Jones was just returning from one of his pubs. He was in the company of Gus the Theatre Cat. The two old friends had decided to spend a night about the town, just as they used to do in the old days.

Jellylorum was there, waiting for the two. As soon as Gus was in her sight, she ran over to her father-in-law. After exchanging greetings with Bustopher, Jelly helped Gus make his way over to his den.

"You really shouldn't stay out this late, Gus," she said as they walked, "If you had a collar of your own, I wouldn't mind, but with all these abductions happening, it isn't safe for you to wander around town, especially at night."

"Jelly, the Pollicles have always caused problems for all the cats in this city, and we Jellicles are no exception," Gus softly told his son's mate, "Besides, I was in the company of Bustopher. He knows how to avoid the mongrels."

"I know, Gus," Jelly remarked, "But I'm already under enough stress; both of my sons are out there in the city without an adult escort. I don't think I could take so much anxiety in one night!"

Gus scoffed and stated jokingly "I don't know how my son puts up with you."

Jellylorum humored him, saying "He manages. Now, come on; let's retire for the night."

As the two walked away, Bustopher Jones was left alone in the clearing. He walked over to the platform next to Old Deuteronomy's tire and sat down there. Resting his arms on his spoon, he gazed over at the tire, try to imagine the type of respect and honor it truly brought to the Jellicle Tribe's leader.

Old Deuteronomy was Bustopher Jones' older brother; by the tradition held in Jellicle law, he had ascended to the position of Tribe Patriarch upon the death of their father, Ancient Leviticus. Ever since that day, Bustopher would sit and ponder every once in a while; he wondered what would have happened had HE been the firstborn son. He felt certain that he would have been respected just as much as his brother and that people would have come to him for advice and counsel whenever it was needed.

Of course, had Bustopher been the Tribe's leader, he would never have been able to balance his responsibilities at the junkyard with his business in the city. He was perhaps the most socially-active member of the tribe, and he was always proud of his work.

He also had a mate and two grown children. The four of them had always cared for and looked after each other, especially in times of crises.

Bustopher did not regret being the second-born son of the Tribe's previous leader. He was proud of all his work, just as his older brother and Gus the Theatre Cat were proud of theirs.

After about ten minutes of meditating, Bustopher heard a voice say "Excuse me, father."

Bustopher turned around and saw his son Coricopat sitting on the tire.

Bustopher grinned at him and asked "What do you need, Coricopat?"

The orange, white, and black tom looked down at his feet for a moment. Then he looked back up and asked his portly father "Have you spoken to Tantomile today?"

Bustopher shook his head lightly, saying "No, I'm afraid not. Why do you ask?"

"She's been in her room all day, drawing," Coricopat answered.

Bustopher raised an eyebrow in interest. He briefly removed his monocle and asked his son "Drawing what?"

"Pictures of a tom," was the psychic tom's answer, "Under normal circumstances, I would not mind her drawing such things. But I'm certain that this would not qualify as normal circumstances."

"Why, my son?" queried Bustopher.

"Because she showed me the pictures, and it was not just any tom," Coricopat replied, "Neither she nor I have seen this tom in over six months, but she flawlessly drew his image from memory. It was as if she simply took a photograph of him."

"Who is this tom?" asked Bustopher, putting his monocle back on and resting on his spoon.

"One of Growltiger's surviving followers," Coricopat replied directly.

The answer took his father by complete surprise. He leaned a little closer to his son and asked him "Which crew member?"

"I believe his name was Ralpharite," explained Coricopat, "He was the Intelligence Officer on Growltiger's ship. He was also part of the group Tantomile, Jemima, Tumblebrutus, and I went with to Hampton."

"You seem uncomfortable with the fact that your sister is drawing pictures of this particular tom," noted Bustopher, shifting his weight on his spoon slightly, "Was he hostile or violent towards her?"

"Oh my, no, Father," Coricopat answered him, "Quite the contrary, he was actually one of the most civilized gentletoms I ever met. He was also perhaps the most intelligent non-mystical cat I have ever seen, as well."

"Then why are you so concerned about what your sister does in her time?" asked Bustopher.

Coricopat paused. He was not certain how to answer that question straight away. He contemplated his words carefully before he began his explanation:

"We didn't tell the tribe everything that had happened in Hampton and East Molesey. We only discussed everything that directly pertained to Growltiger, as well as Tumblebrutus' involvement in his crew. You see, shortly after they met on the _Demagogue_, Tantomile quickly noticed Ralpharite's many talents, and he, hers. She tried to hide it from me, but I could not help but sense her interest in him, as well as his in her. On the train from the Waterloo Station to the Hampton Court Railway Station, Tantomile and Ralpharite spent a lot of time talking together. For a while, they were just talking business. But soon, they started talking about their personal lives. Later that night, after the train arrived in East Molesey, we all made camp in Hampton Court. The two of them talked and talked some more. However, I was the only person in our party who was not too preoccupied to notice."

Coricopat paused again. He was not too certain that he wanted to go on talking about his sister behind her back, but continued his explanation all the same:

"In the middle of the night, I woke up. Tantomile and Ralpharite were not there. Everyone else was asleep, so I decided to look around. I eventually found them near the court, stargazing. I made certain not to get too close, lest Tantomile be able to sense my presence. After a while of looking up at the stars and more friendly banter, Ralpharite asked Tantomile if she had ever been in love. She replied by telling him that she had once been in love with a tom born outside the Jellicle Tribe. It wasn't until she found out that that tom was actually one of Macavity's henchcats that she ended their relationship. Ralpharite told her in turn that he was once in love, as well. In fact, he was engaged at one point. But his lover was killed in a Siamese raid. In fact, according to him, that's what initially inspired him to join Growltiger's crew in the first place; he wanted to kill as many of the Siamese as possible. But as time passed, he got less focused on revenge and more focused on getting his life in order. He then told Tantomile that he was certain that he would never love again… until he met her."

"I had a feeling you were going to say that," Bustopher remarked casually.

"Yes, and you see," Coricopat went on, "Over the course of the next few days, while we did our work, Tantomile and Ralpharite got closer and closer. I think Tantomile actually KNEW what was going on, but she did not mind that, as she felt that she and Ralph weren't doing anything wrong. I didn't do anything to intervene; as I was confident that she knew what she was doing and that she was going steady. However… I was wrong. Very wrong indeed."

"What are you insinuating?" Bustopher curiously asked his son.

Coricopat breathed in deeply and answered while doing his best to look his father in the eye "Father, I never told anyone about this, but… I believe that just a few hours before our group went to rendezvous with the _Demagogue_, Ralpharite and Tantomile slept together."

Bustopher Jones jumped to his feet and glared at his son with many mixed emotions. "What! How can you be certain of that?"

Coricopat verbally submitted his proof: "That evening, while we were preparing to leave Roshedam's apartment to head to West Molesey, I happened to notice that Tantomile and Ralpharite were not with us in the main room. I went to search the building for them. They were nowhere on the third floor, and the first floor was condemned, so I went to search the second floor. I noticed one particular room had several lit candles spread all around. I carefully peaked into the room and… the two of them had their paws wrapped around each other. In a VERY sensual manner, I mean."

Bustopher was stunned. Too stunned for words. After several moments, he practically yelled "My daughter is not a slut! You must be wrong!"

"I didn't want to believe it either, Father," Coricopat stated sadly, shaking his head, "But there's no point in denying it; Tantomile lost her innocence that night to a tom she had only recently met, but she was certain she loved him. But please, if you're going to be angry, vent your rage on me, not her. I should have anticipated that that could have happened. I should have done something… said something at the very least."

"Your sister was already grown at that time, my son," Bustopher gruffly pointed out, "As were you. She was entirely responsible for her own actions. You should not take the fall for them."

"I know, I know," said Coricopat, leaning on his leg and gazing downward at the junk spread around the base of the tire.

There was a long interval of silence between the two toms. Bustopher eventually broke it when he said "Whatever became of this Ralpharite?"

"After the _Demagogue _was captured by the Siamese, he stayed in Hampton with a third of the survivors from Growltiger's crew while the other survivors returned here to London," Coricopat explained, "When he and Tantomile said their good-byes, I could sense that the two of them were emotionally devastated. But they knew they would have to cope with the scenario. Ever since that day, Tantomile has never spoken a word about Ralpharite and I have never brought him up around her."

"So why would she be drawing such flawlessly accurate pictures of him only now?" Bustopher questioned his son.

"I have a theory for that," Coricopat answered, "They say that sometimes, whenever a psychic or a mystic is separated from a close lover, a part of their lover's spirit stays with them and lives inside of them. And whenever their lover returns or is close by – say within a three-mile radius – the eminent feelings that the psychic or mystic had of their lover returns to them, reminding them of the love and experiences they shared together. From what I know of this trait, the feelings are so potent that the mystic or psychic almost becomes obsessed with the person and is inclined by their primal nature to replicate their lover's image in their absence. Hence the drawings."

Bustopher rubbed his chin, thinking on this theory. After a while, he stated "That sounds like a very well-founded hypothesis. But that would imply that Ralpharite is in the city somewhere."

"That is exactly what I believe, Father," stated Coricopat, "In fact, that's the only reasonable explanation I can think up. However, I have no more idea where Ralpharite is then why he is here."

"When did Tantomile start drawing the pictures of Ralpharite?" queried Bustopher.

"Sometime this morning, around nine o'clock, I believe," Coricopat answered.

"Then perhaps he arrived in the city sometime around then," Bustopher stated.

"Wise thinking, Father," said Coricopat, "I'm going to do a little digging; see if any of my friends in the city might have seen Ralpharite."

"You may do that," Bustopher told his son, "But first, I would like to know something."

"Certainly, Father, anything."

Bustopher looked up at him and asked "Did YOU ever go through this phase?"

Coricopat did not know whether his father was joking or being dead serious. He simply replied "No, father. As you know, Exotica and I got together a few months ago, but I swear to you that both of us waited until we were officially mated to lose our innocence to each other."

Bustopher just smirked and told his son "I'm glad at least one of my children was patient enough to wait."

…

Back in Ratcliff, Tumblebrutus was still trying to come to terms with everything his old comrades had just told him. He was pleasantly surprised to find out that Roshedam was Grumbuskin's son and that he had a son with Scurtena, but he was beyond shocked to learn that Macavity had captured Grumbuskin and usurped control of the Siamese fleet.

Roshedam was doing his best to set his mind at ease. He told him "Don't worry, Tumble; we'll get him out of there."

"I'm confident that we** will **get him out of there," stated Tumblebrutus, "But I'd like to know how. Your numbers are still too few."

"Wait a minute, Tumble, what do you mean '**we** will get him out?'" said Ralpharite from the other room, as he examined the still unconscious Vecinha's wound, "Grumbuskin dismissed you from the crew."

"I know he did, but now I have reason to get involved in your affairs once more!" Tumblebrutus argued, "Like I said, your numbers are too few; you'll need everyone you can get on your side. Besides, my Tribe knows more about Macavity than any member of your party ever will."

"Tumble, we're still reluctant to accept **your **help," stated Roshedam, "To involve your entire tribe in this mess is entirely out of the question. Too many innocent people are already dead because of us."

"I never said anything about getting my entire tribe involved," Tumblebrutus corrected the brown and yellow tom, "Just a few select individuals."

"Like who?" asked Ralpharite.

"For starters, my brother Pouncival," Tumblebrutus gestured towards the front room at his slightly younger but equally-talented brother, "He possesses many of the talents that got me a job on Growltiger's ship in the first place. We were born with them."

"It's true, sirs," Pouncival confirmed his brother's remark, "I'd be honored to provide my services to you in any way I can."

"We also have Macavity's former second-in-command living with us at the Jellicle Tribe," Tumblebrutus stated, "He and his mate are very mischievous, but the two of them can break-in just about anywhere without getting caught. And, of course, there's our old friends Coricopat and Tantomile."

At that, Ralpharite looked up from his work and turned to Tumblebrutus. He said "They'd help us?"

"Yeah, of course they would," Tumblebrutus nodded.

Ralpharite lightly smiled for a moment then said "On that note… how is Tantomile?"

"Oh, she's doing fine," Tumblebrutus answered, "Though I must say that she was rather reclusive today. Even more so than usual. Why do you ask, Ralph?"

"No reason," Ralpharite quickly responded, "I was just curious."

Ralpharite turned back to the bed. Just a split-second later, a paw shot up and grabbed him by his throat. Ralpharite instinctively dropped his tools and grabbed the paw with both of his front paws, trying to free himself from the grasp.

He looked down and saw that the paw belonged to Vecinha. She had awakened. She held an expression of malice and hostility in her countenance.

"Ralph!" called out Roshedam. Thinking quickly, the yellow and brown tom drew his sword and entered the third room.

Vecinha noticed Ralpharite's dagger was within reach of her left paw. She reached out for it, drew it from its sheath and held it up to the red and white tabby's neck.

"Stay back or he dies!" she warned the others.

Ralpharite held his arms up in surrender, keeping them suspended in midair above his head.

All five of the other cats in the shed had their eyes focused on the back of the third room. Vecinha's abrupt return to consciousness had taken them all completely by surprise.

Vecinha herself had no more an idea of where she was then why she was there in the first place. But she was not going to take any chances; she was determined to let these people know that she could defend herself.

"Who are you?" she asked through gritted teeth.

"What's it to you?" Ralpharite asked sharply, glaring down at her.

Vecinha tightened her grip on his throat a little and demanded "I want an answer!"

"My name is Ralpharite," the red and white tom replied calmly but angrily, "The cats behind me are Roshedam, Geraldine, Heurion, Pouncival, and Tumblebrutus. And you are?"

"That's not important," Vecinha retorted, "I just want to know one thing: do you work for those Siamese scumbags?"

Ralpharite could not help but scoff at that question, despite the fact that he was in a very dangerous position. He replied sarcastically "Do you really take us for such stupid, greedy, incompetent savages?"

Vecinha tightened her grip a little more and shouted "Do you work for the Siamese!"

"No, we do not work for the fucking Siamese!" yelled Ralpharite, "There, I said it! Are you happy?"

"Sir, I just killed twelve cats a few hours ago," Vecinha informed him, "Don't think I'd hesitate to kill you too if I felt you posed a threat."

"Release him!" Roshedam demanded, pointing his sword in Vecinha's general direction.

"I told you to stay back unless you want him to die!" Vecinha reminded him.

"He saved your life!" shouted the yellow and brown tom, keeping his sword raised, "You would have drowned had he not pulled you out of those waters!"

Vecinha shifted her gaze from Roshedam to Ralpharite constantly. "How can I be sure of this? How do I know you didn't fish me out just so you could hand me back to the Siamese?"

"You were being held by the Siamese?" Ralpharite asked.

"Yes, and I refuse to go back there!" shouted Vecinha, still using one front paw to grip Ralpharite's throat and the other to hold the dagger up to his neck.

There was a short pause in the room. Then Ralpharite said "Tell you what: if you let me go, I'll let you keep the dagger, just in case you need some assurance that you're safe."

"Sir, with all due respect, I wouldn't need a dagger to kill you," Vecinha stated wittingly.

There was another pause. This one lasted much longer.

Finally, Ralpharite broke the silence. He said calmly "You've been sexually abused."

Vecinha did not respond immediately. She simply asked "How… how do you know that?"

"I hope you don't mind, but I took the liberty of examining you for injuries when we brought you inside," Ralpharite explained, "I looked over every part of you, including the region that all queens protect if the threat of rape should ever be implied. But you have my word as a gentletom; I did not take advantage of you, nor will I take advantage of you. I know you must be traumatized by something that has happened to you recently. Something terrible, something you are not certain you can live with."

"You have no idea," Vecinha remarked, unknowingly confirming his theory. She seemed to ease down a little bit.

Ralpharite looked over at Roshedam out of the corner of his eye and said "Rosh, put your sword down."

"What?" said Roshedam.

"Do it, now!" Ralpharite practically ordered him.

Roshedam sighed and lowered his weapon. He still kept it drawn, just to be on the safe side.

Ralpharite then turned his eyes back to Vecinha.

"Let us help you in any way we can," he asked of her, "We would be happy to offer our help, but first, you must at least attempt to trust us. Believe us; we are not your enemies."

Another pause came about. Then slowly, Vecinha released Ralpharite and lowered the dagger at the same time. Ralpharite held onto his throat and coughed violently, trying to fully regain his breath.

Roshedam returned his sword to its sheath and went over to his best friend, leading him over to a chair. As he sat down, he asked him "Ralph, are you okay?"

Ralpharite just looked up and smirked, saying "Yeah, I'm fine, Rosh. Don't worry about me."

Then he looked over at Vecinha and told her "I don't believe you told us your name."

The young queen resigned herself to this twist of fate and told them "My name is Vecinha."

…

Back at Macavity's hideout, the Hidden Paw, Hoagemont, Paulina, Xerxes, Ullick, and Oswald were making their way through the basement. They passed through corridor after corridor, making seemingly endless twists and turns.

"Just how big IS this basement?" Hoagemont asked Oswald.

"I'm not really certain, sir," answered the silver and grey henchcat, "Only Macavity himself really knows. I believe that he somehow jinxed this entire level to make it seem much bigger than it actually is. That's the primary reason why nobody ever comes down here without his consent. He likes to instill fear in them so they don't go snooping around here."

"Snooping around for what?" queried the Siamese Commander.

"No idea, sir," said Oswald, "Some of the henchcats think he has some sort of treasure or some special source of power down here. Others say he is trying to conceal a very grim secret from the rest of us. But between you and me, I don't believe he actually has anything of such importance hidden away down here. He probably only wants us to **think **him does so that he can see – as a way to test our will power – how well we keep to our own business."

"An astute observation, Oswald," remarked Macavity, cutting in to the conversation, "However, I will neither confirm nor deny your speculation until you are absolutely certain of yourself."

"Whatever you say, sir," stated Oswald.

As they neared the door to Grumbuskin's cell, Hoagemont said to Macavity "Sir, if you don't mind me asking: if this is Oswald's shift to guard you, then why are Ullick and Xerxes with us, too?"

"They are here simply for your safety, as well as your consort's safety, Commander," explained the Hidden Paw, "Grumbuskin tried to kill your five predecessors the first time he encountered each one of them. Even though I am perfectly capable of restraining him myself, I saw this as an ideal way for my bodyguards to hone some of their own skills. So now, whenever I take the Siamese ambassador to see him, I always bring along at least three of my bodyguards."

"That makes perfect sense to me," commented Hoagemont.

The six cats approached the door to Grumbuskin's cell and Macavity entered his passcode into a terminal to deactivate the electronic lock.

A moment later, the door was unlocked and it slid open. The six of them stepped inside.

Grumbuskin was still sitting next to Grizabella at the far wall, talking with her. When the two of them heard the door's lock deactivate, they turned in the direction of the door. In the next fifteen seconds, Macavity and his three bodyguards stepped into the room, as did Hoagemont and Paulina.

When Macavity saw the two old cats sitting so close to each other, he smirked and commented "Ah, Grumbuskin; I see that you've become acquainted with my mother."

Grumbuskin jumped to his feet, grimacing in anger at the ginger cat.

"What kind of tom are you?" Grumbuskin snarled angrily, "I can understand how a person would be so cruel as to gather up entire families of innocent cats and murder them, but to do this to your own mother… you are nothing but a shameless coward!"

Macavity just folded his arms and remained smirking. He simply remarked "If you believe that because I put her in here with you, then perhaps you should be aware that I once tried to kill my own son, Grumbuskin. Your words mean nothing to me."

"Yeah, she's damn lucky to be alive!" stated Xerxes, "Originally, he was gonna send her off to Room A."

"You should just be grateful that she's keeping you company!" commented Ullick, "After all, being alone in here for three months… I would sure as hell enjoy the presence of a queen after that much time in solitude."

"Xerxes, Ullick, hold your tongues," Macavity ordered his bodyguards. Once they were quiet, he pointed directly at Grumbuskin and gave them new orders: "Restrain him!"

The two of them rushed towards Grumbuskin and seized him by his front legs. They forced him to approach the center of the room. Grizabella slowly rose to her feet and stood near the center of the room.

Macavity, Hoagemont, Paulina, and Oswald also approached the center of the room.

Macavity stepped aside so that Grumbuskin could get a good look at the Siamese Commander.

"I would like to present the new Siamese ambassador, Lieutenant Commander Hoagemont." Macavity introduced Mouveilyr's newest agent to the old black and grey tom.

"Lieutenant Commander, eh?" remarked Grumbuskin, "The last ambassador held a rank of full Commander. I guess the Siamese fleet's surplus supply of officers is not as vast as I originally believe. Is it, Commander Scarface?"

Hoagemont knew full well that Grumbuskin was referring to the scar just below his eye. He simply struck the black and grey tom across the face. Then he said "So, this is the tom who killed my fleet's previous commanding officer. Shame, I was expecting a little more from you."

"The lack of daily sunlight has significantly reduced his intake of Vitamin D," Macavity enlightened the Siamese officer, "Somehow, he still manages to stay in shape. But his resilience will eventually fail him."

"Well, that won't stop me from having a little fun…" commented Hoagemont.

He turned to fully face Grumbuskin. Then he kicked him in the stomach. Grumbuskin coughed once, and then Hoagemont punched him in the face. As he beat Grumbuskin, Hoagemont said things like "Genghis was a good tom and a fine officer. You should have just stayed in hiding! That way, he'd be alive and you wouldn't be rotting away to nothing in here! You're nothing but a reject of your past life! You're a disgrace to other feline sailors everywhere!"

After about three minutes of this, Grizabella stepped forward and angrily remarked "That is enough."

Hoagemont abruptly turned to her and said slyly "Excuse me?"

In response, Grizabella slapped him across the face, almost knocking him off his feet.

Hoagemont quickly regained his stance and glared down at Grizabella. She did not seem to be intimidated by him in the slightest. She simply stated "I said leave him alone."

There was a long instance of silence between all the cats gathered in that room. Everyone was deeply stunned (some even impressed) by Grizabella's bold act against the Siamese commander.

"Madam, I must say you are lucky," remarked Hoagemont angrily.

"Lucky how?" snapped Grizabella.

"In my lifetime, I have emotionally hurt queens, I have verbally abused queens, and I have killed queens," stated the Siamese Commander, "However, despite all that, I have never struck a queen in my life. I have yet to use my own paws to physically keep a queen in line. But I am not about to break my own code of ethics on you."

"Not to worry about that, Commander," stated Macavity, "I have people who can do that for you."

Macavity then looked at Oswald and made a gesture from him to Grizabella using his right front paw.

Oswald nodded and slowly approached Grizabella. When he was directly in front of her, he punched her directly in the face. She stumbled and collapsed onto the ground.

The grey and black bodyguard walked over to her, saying "Get up, you miserable little bitch!"

He picked her up by the neck. Then he kicked her in the side and threw her into the wall. Grizabella barely had time to catch her breath as Oswald hit her again.

Grizabella kneeled on the ground, holding her chest in pain. Oswald leaned closer to her ear and told her "We have a certain system of doing things around here. If you stay in line, do as your told, and don't cause trouble, we can make life a paradise for you. But if you ever, and I mean EVER, deliberately create a disturbance of the peace, we can make you regret the day you were born."

With that, he kicked Grizabella again and pushed her onto the ground. She tried her hardest to crawl away, but Oswald just kicked her again. This time he spat on her. He looked up at Macavity, as if waiting for another order. The Hidden Paw just told him "Keep with it, Oswald. I don't believe she gets the message yet."

Oswald smiled evilly and landed another few blows onto the back of Grizabella's head.

As Grumbuskin watched this, he felt a strong atmosphere of disbelief come over him. A young tom was beating a queen who was too old to fight back equally… that was one of the most repulsive things he had ever seen in his entire life.

With each passing moment, Grumbuskin felt new rage boiling up inside of him, as if he was going to explode.

Finally, after watching Oswald practically beat Grizabella half to death, Grumbuskin snapped.

He kicked Xerxes in the side, throwing him painfully off balance and onto the ground. Using his now free arm, he slammed his fist into Ullick's face, forcing him to release his arm.

Grumbuskin then lunged towards Oswald and knocked him onto the ground. A moment later, he was lying directly on top of the younger grey and silver tom. He glared down at him with an expression conveying unspeakable anger.

A moment later, Grumbuskin drew his claws and started delivering fiercely powerful blows onto any part of Oswald that he could reach. The grey and silver bodyguard screeched in pain as Grumbuskin inflicted more and more pain onto him with each passing second.

Just before Oswald was certain he was going to die, Macavity stepped forward and shot a bolt of lightning from one of his paws, hitting Grumbuskin in the center of his chest.

The black and grey tom stopped his assault on Oswald and collapsed onto the ground, clutching the part of his chest where the lightning hit him.

"Oh, my Everlasting Cat…" Macavity muttered under his breath as he stared at the sight in front of him.

Oswald had more open wounds than one could count at a glance. He was in so much pain, that he barely even had the strength to whimper in agony. Macavity leaned next to him and whispered into his ear "Don't worry; I won't let you die."

Hoagemont noted something rather peculiar; Macavity actually seemed to be heavily worried about Oswald's well-being. That was the first time since his arrival that Macavity showed concern for anyone, even one of his henchcats. Certainly, Xerxes and Ullick were both deeply concerned for their colleague as well, but Macavity almost looked as if he was on the verge of complete panic.

The Hidden Paw looked up and requested "Commander, could you please give me a hand taking Oswald to the infirmary?"

"Yes, of course, sir," the Siamese ambassador agreed. He stepped forward and aided Macavity in giving Oswald a helping hand.

The two of them carefully escorted Oswald out of the room, Xerxes and Ullick covering them and following close behind. They all stepped outside and Macavity reentered his passcode into the terminal to reactivate the electronic lock. Then the group headed back to the staircase.

In all that activity, none of the toms realized that they had inadvertently left Paulina behind with Grumbuskin and Grizabella.


	21. Those Who Relate

**Note: I apologize in advance if you think this story has way too many subplots; I can assure you that eventually, they'll all tie-in to each other.**

At the Jellicle Junkyard, Jemima was walking alone through the main clearing. It was very late at night, but most of the members of the Tribe were still awake. However, several were indoors.

Jemima sat alone on the hood of the TSE-1 stargazing. Normally, she preferred stargazing in the company of her tomfriend, Tumblebrutus, but Tumble was out with his friends that night, so she was left on her own.

Jemima typically preferred being in the company of her friends, but she also enjoyed having some peace and quiet time in solitude.

"Hi, Jemima!" called an excited voice a few meters away.

Jemima sat up and saw Etcetera approaching. She simply smiled softly and remarked "Hello, Cetty. How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm alright…" Etcetera replied. She slowly approached her friend and hopped onto the tire with her. Then she remarked "I want to talk to you."

"About what?" asked Jemima as she sat up a little more.

"Well…" Etcetera began a little hesitantly, "You remember six months ago, when my brother was serving under Growltiger at night?"

"Yes, of course I remember," Jemima replied, scoffing a little.

"Well, about how long did it take for him to come forth and tell you everything about his night activities?" queried Etcetera, "I know you were the first one he confided in, seeing as how you're his queenfriend and all."

Jemima lightly shrugged and said "Not long, two weeks at the most. I already had my own suspicions and theories before he told me, but none of them really quite prepared me for the explanation he gave me. Why do you ask?"

"Have you noticed that Admetus has been gone a lot at night recently?" asked Etcetera.

Normally, Jemima did not pay much attention to what the others members of the tribe did at night, but she had indeed noted that Admetus tended to be absent from the Tribe late at night. She simply nodded in response to Etcetera's question.

"I have a feeling that perhaps he's up to something," Etcetera confessed, "I have no idea what it could possibly be, but I have reason to suspect."

"Well, I'm pretty certain that he isn't doing what Tumblebrutus did," Jemima remarked, "After all, the main reason why Tumble stopped working for Growltiger was because the Siamese fleet massacred the Bravo Cat's vessel and took almost complete control of the Thames River shortly afterwards. Now there's no work for independent sailors on the docks unless they're Siamese or if they're black-market agents."

"I'm actually a little relieved to hear that," Etcetera admitted, "That was my primary concern. I'll just talk to Admetus about his night activities later. Maybe tomorrow."

"Sounds fine with me," commented Jemima.

The two queens said good night to each other and Etcetera went to her den. Once more, Jemima was left alone in the main clearing. Alone with her thoughts and reflections. She laid back down on the hood of the TSE-1 and continued stargazing.

A few minutes later, she started hearing the sounds of metal hitting metal. These sounds quickly caught her attention.

Jemima sat up and used her keen ears to locate the source of the noises. After focusing for a few moments, she was able to determine that the sounds were eminating from an area around ten meters further into the junkyard.

She decided to investigate. She climbed over the junk behind the TSE-1 and made her way through more junk until she was within three meters of the comotion. The noise was coming from the junkyard's secondary clearing. This was the area of the junkyard that the tribe would use to rest during the intermission of the Jellicle Ball. They had also decided to use this part of the junkyard as the place to perform the Ball in the unlikely yet possible event that the main clearing would be unfit for the performance. In the Tribe's history, they had never been forced to use the secondary clearing, but they still kept it in reserve.

Jemima climbed to the top of the pile and gazed into the secondary clearing. There she saw two of the tribe's most notorious member. They were two tiger-striped tabbies; one male and one female.

The female one was Rumpleteazer, Jemima's older sister. The male one was Rumple's ex-con mate, Mungojerrie. Mungo had previously been Macavity's own second-in-command for years, but he had abandoned his work with the Hidden Paw and gone to live with the Jellicle Tribe around four months earlier.

In that time, Mungojerrie had come to put the majority of his past life behind him and adapt to the Jellicles' morals and values. However, he was still a slight kleptomaniac, as he had a tendency to steal from anywhere outside the junkyard. His close friendship with Rumpleteazer improved his ability to carry out theft, as he taught her everything he knew on the subject. Despite the fact that the Tribe did not approve, the two of them proved to be rather helpful at times.

Mungojerrie and Rumplteazer were not only mates; they were also partners-in-crime. A lot of the time, Mungo acted as a type of mentor to Rumple. He wanted to share all his knowledge of a criminal lifestyle with her for the somewhat contradictory purpose of using the knowledge for good.

At this time, Mungojerrie was teaching Rumpleteazer how to spar with a knife. He had emphasized to her several times in the past how using a knife could be a great advantage to facing a hostile opponent (such as a Pollicle) as opposed to facing the adversary unarmed. Presently, he was teaching her some handy attack combinations.

Jemima found the sight to be quite engaging, so she decided to just sit at the top of the junk pile and watch.

Mungojerrie was holding his knife upside down and holding it in the defense stance. At the same time, Rumpleteazer was holding her knife straight up in the offense stance and tried to attack her mate with it from several different angles. She was not waving her knife wildly like an amateur; she was simply hacking it at Mungo. He easily parried every blow Rumple threw at him with his own knife.

"C'mon, Rump'le," Mungo playfully pressed his mate as he continued to counter her blows, "You c'an do bett'eh th'an TH'OT!"

Rumple just smirked wickedly and remarked "Ok'ay. If ya' ins'ist, Mungo."

She threw her knife upwards into the air, cartwheeled around her mate, landed on her hind feet and grabbed her knife by the hilt when gravity brought it back down. Then she hacked at Mungo's back.

Had Mungo been a few mere milliseconds slower, her attack would have succeeded. But Mungo still proved to have the upper hand (or upper paw) in the fight when he held his knife behind his back and blocked Rumple's blow. Then he spun around grabbed Rumple by the wrist, and pulled her close.

In the process, Rumple dropped her knife and Mungo turned her onto her back. With one arm, he held her upright. With his other arm, he held his knife up to her neck.

Rumpleteazer seemd a little stunned by how quickly all of this happened, as she nervously looked back and forth from Mungo to his knife. Mungojerrie had a grave expression on his face, as if he was a little disappointed.

"Ya see, sw'eet'eart?" commented Mungo, "If I w'ere one o' Mac's 'enchc'ats, I coulda cut yer thr'oat by now. Ya 'ave ta pay closeh atte'ntion to pot'ential bl'ind sp'ots."

Rumpleteazer slowly nodded to indicate that she understood what her mate was trying to explain. She stated "I unde'sto'nd, 'oney. I'll get bett'eh."

Mungojerrie simply lowered his knife and smiled down at his mate. Once he did this, Rumpleteazer returned the smile. He said "I know ya will. I 'ave fa'ith in ya."

Then he pulled her even closer and kissed her on the lips. She held onto his sides, returning the show of affection.

When they came apart, Rumpleteazer picked up her knife and Mungojerrie stated "Now let's s'ee h'ow well ya do in def'ense. I'll a'ttack you; you mus' try to bl'ock all mah blows. Got it?"

Rumple nodded and held her knife underhand. But before they could resume their practice, Mungo happened to look up and notice Jemima.

"'Ey, look w'ho's 'ere," he pointed out the young black and ginger queen to his mate.

Rumpleteazer turned around and smiled when she saw Jemima. She called out "'Ello, Jemmy!"

"Hi, Rumple," Jemima softly greeted her sister, "You don't mind if I watch, do you?"

"No, n'ot at all," answered Rumpleteazer.

"I d'idn't know you w'ere inta this t'ype o' stuff, Jem," commented Mungojerrie.

The young queen simply shrugged and said "I like exploring new subjects. They could always develop into a potential interest. You two go ahead and resume your dueling. I'll just sit here and take notes."

The two tiger-striped cats agreed and continued their round of training with their knives. Jemima watched them closely, paying close attention to the different types of maneuvers and tactics that Mungojerrie was using in his attempt to break through Rumpleteazer's defense.

Jemima was not quite certain just what it was about knife-dueling that fascinated her, but she was inclined to study it all the same.

…

Of the three cats in Grumbuskin's cell at that time, Paulina was the only one that was not too weak to stand on two feet. She looked back and forth at the two elderly cats, both of them clearly in pain. Even though her facial expression remained as emotionless as ever, she inwardly took pity on the two of them.

Grizabella did her best to drag herself across the ground towards Grumbuskin. Despite the fact that Oswald had given her a rough beating, she was worried that Macavity might have killed him.

Just before she reached him, Paulina walked over to her and helped her sit up. Grizabella looked up at the young queen nervously, as if she was certain that she would turn violent at any moment.

Paulina saw this look in the elder queen's eyes and told her gently "Do not be afraid, ma'am. I will not harm you."

That was all Grizabella needed for the moment. She turned her eyes back to Grumbuskin and asked "Can you see if he's still breathing?"

Paulina let the Glamour Cat go and kneeled down next to Grumbuskin. She turned him onto his back and saw that he was just barely conscious. She leaned closer and tapped him on the shoulders, saying "Sir… sir? Are you still with us?"

Once Grumbuskin had the strength to respond, he slowly nodded. Paulina helped him sit up as well.

She found herself kneeling almost directly in-between the two elderly cats.

"Who are you?" Grumbuskin asked, a note of caution in his voice.

"My name is Paulina," she responded simply, "and I'm not a henchcat, if that is what you're asking, sir."

"Then what are you doing here?" asked Grizabella.

The young queen turned to the old queen and told her "I am just as much a prisoner as you are. My primary function is pleasure. After Lieutenant Commander Hoagemont arrived yesterday, he selected me as his personal consort."

This seemed to surprise both of the elderly cats.

"But you're… so young!" Grizabella pointed out, "How old are you?"

"In cat years, seventeen," Paulina replied as she stood up straight, "As you may have gathered, I am not of age."

"Did that Siamese piece of scum know that?" Grumbuskin asked angrily.

"Indeed he did," she answered, "But he chose me all the same over all the other concubines in Room C."

As Grumbuskin muttered a curse under his breath, Grizabella asked her curiously "Why did he leave you in here?"

"I assume that it was a mistake," Paulina theorized, "Macavity and the others were too preoccupied with moving that one tom to the infirmary that they forgot to bring me along."

There was a short interval of silence here. Then Grizabella buried her face in one of her front paws and started weeping. Paulina kneeled next to her and asked her "Are you alright, ma'am?"

Grizabella just meekly shook her head and muttered through her sobs "I am… so sorry for this. I feel so ashamed for what my son has done to you and so many other innocent people. You don't deserve to be in here against your will."

"It is not your fault, ma'am," Paulina whispered gently, "But I would like to know; is there anything I could possibly do to help either of you?"

Grumbuskin slowly looked up at Paulina and rubbed his chin in deep thought. Then he lowered his paw and said "I assume that being Hoagemont's consort, you share a room with him. Is that correct?"

"Yes, sir," Paulina nodded in response.

"Then there is something you can do," Grumbuskin replied. He moved a little closer and stated "Now, I want you to listen carefully to everything I am about to tell you, as this could be the only time you'll ever in here."

…

The infirmary in Macavity's warehouse was usually mostly empty. But it was never fully empty. One of the beds in the room was always occupied at some point or other, as Macavity's henchcats tended to suffer injuries quite often. Several of them would recieve a lot of punishment on their more dangerous missions with objectives such as hunting, spying, and assassinations. Others tended to get injured during dismal negotiations and faulty trade agreements. Everyone else the infirmary treated winded up there not out of carelessness or negligence, but because they simply "got on someone else's nerves" a little too much.

Oswald was presently being treated for all three reasons. He was lying on a bed in the center of the room. He was not conscious at this time, as the doctors had given him a sedative. Parts of his chest, legs, and head were heavily bandaged.

Macavity was sitting at the front of the bed, gently stroking his bodyguard's forehead. Hoagemont was standing right before the Hidden Paw, again noting some more of Macavity's strange new behavior.

Ullick and Xerxes were standing near the entrance to the room. Both of them were notably concerned for their colleague.

There were three other henchcats receiving medical attention at that time. There was a new recruit that was being treated for a concussion he had received while completing part of his preliminary combat tests. There was also a tom that had been wounded during a spying mission. The third was a queen. Hoagemont could not tell what exactly the female henchcat was being treated for, but he happened to notice that she was the only one of the three that had a visitor. There was a tom standing directly behind her, resting one of his paws on her abdomen, as if he was being protective ot it.

It did not take long for the Siamese Commander to draw a conclusion from there.

Before long, one of the doctors approached Macavity and told him "Sir, we're completed our analysis of the damage done to Oswald."

"Very well, Doc," remarked the Hidden Paw as he looked up at the physician, "Hit me with it."

The doctor looked at his clipboard and read the key parts of his report: "Oswald has exactly twenty-nine open wounds on his body. It's damn fortunate that you brought him up here right away, otherwise we might not have been able to clot all of them so easily. He also has two cracked ribs and some hairline fractures on his sternum. His left shoulder was dislocated, but we managed to remedy that problem."

Macavity took a careful note of everything he was told. When the Doctor was finished, the Hidden Paw slowly nodded and asked "So, what's your recommended prescription?"

"Well, sir, knowing Oswald, he should be back on his feet within the next two days," replied the Doctor, "However, he'll still need a great deal of rest to recover his strength."

"In that case, I'm confining Oswald to the infirmary until eleven tomorrow night," Macavity decided, "I certainly hope he'll be back to normal by then."

"I know how you mean, sir," stated the medical henchcat, "We're all concerned for Oswald's well-being. We all hope he'll get better."

All the other henchcats in the room – the patients and the doctors as well as Ullick and Xerxes – all declared in agreement "Here, here."

Hoagemont, however, was very confused. He turned to the Doctor and remarked "I thought you just said that Oswald has twenty-nine open wounds, two cracked ribs, a sternum with numerous hairline fractures, and a dislocated shoulder."

"That is correct," the doctor confirmed, "What is your point?"

Hoagemont rolled his eyes and stated "My point is this: just how the hell does anyone recover from all that in just twenty-four hours?"

The doctor simply shrugged and said "There are only two people in this organization that could heal that quickly: our Boss and Oswald. None of the rest of us can heal that quickly. I'd suggest you ask my Boss about anything pertaining to Oswald."

As the Doctor went to file his report, Hoagemont turned to Macavity.

The Hidden Paw stood up and stated "I would not mind giving you an explanation, Commander. I suppose you deserve one, considering the present circumstances."

Hoagemont nodded, saying "Sir, on that note, there is something I would like to ask you."

"What might that be?" enquired Macavity.

"I've noticed that everyone around here seems to care a great deal about Oswald's well-being," the Siamese ambassador pointed out, "You in particular seem to be the one most concerned for him. I'm curious to know why that is."

Macavity did not answer directly. He just gazed in Hoagemont's questioning eyes for a moment while contemplating his answer. Then he let out a deep sigh, rested one of his hind feet on the adjoining bed, and leaned on that leg as he began his explanation:

"Several months ago – even before the alliance between your people and mine came about – we were at war with the Pekingese dogs. It was a brutal war; a type of war that even I don't like to reminisce on. At one point, the Pekes began work on a deadly biological weapon. Once they found a way to harness it, they secretly released it into my warehouse. Once the weapon was airborne in here, my henchcats slowly started to get infected one-by-one. Before long, everyone was ridden with the virus. With the exception of two people: myself and Oswald. He and I worked around the clock to find a cure for our colleagues. When all our research failed us, Oswald decided to go find the cure the old-fashioned way."

"How did he do that?" inquired the Siamese ambassador.

"He went to the Pekes' hideout and single-handedly apprehended their leaders," answered the Hidden Paw, "He tortured them for hours until they finally gave him the formula for the cure. Once he returned, we were able to use the formula to cure everybody before the death toll even began. Not long after that, the Pekes surrendered unconditionally. Ever since that day, everyone in this organization – myself included – has come to greatly respect Oswald for his acts of heroism on our part."

"Wow, that's very interesting," remarked Hoagemont, "But, sir, I am still curious about one thing. Why were neither you nor Oswald infected?"

"Because we were naturally immune to it," replied Macavity, "You see, the magic in my blood creates a type of organic defense mechanism against biological weapons – regardless of whether they are genuine or artificial. To me, breathing in the Pekes' weapon was no different than breathing in the everyday nitrogen-oxygen mixture in our atmosphere that keeps us alive."

"So now I understand how you were not infected," Hoagemont remarked, "But what about Oswald? How is it the weapon had no effect on him?"

"Commander, I just told you the reason," Macavity pointed out.

Hoagemont raised an eyebrow in confusion, saying "You did?"

Macavity sighed and stated "Yes, I did. But I realize I probably was not specific enough, so I'll rephrase it for you: only mystical cats are naturally immune to biological weapons."

Hoagemont's eyes shot wide open in surprise. He slowly uttered "So, sir… basically… you're telling me that… Oswald is a… mystic?"

Macavity nodded sternly. "I determined this shortly after he and I cured our colleagues. Came as quite a shock to all of us, including myself. You see, mystical cats are usually able to sense other mystics. But I never sensed anything of mysticism from Oswald until the day after we administered the cure to everyone else. After I started getting my suspicions, I decided to use some of my more advanced magic to look directly into his soul. It was then that I discovered that Oswald was a mystic."

"I thought that all mystics were **born **with magic in their blood," stated Hoagemont, "Why is it that Oswald didn't show signs of being one until that day?"

"Because his powers had not surfaced yet," replied Macavity, "You see, Commander, like most mystics, I started exhibiting my powers when I was a kitten. However, it is possible for a mystic's powers to remain dormant until adulthood. The carrier is usually not even aware of them."

"What causes dormant powers to emerge in such an individual?" queried Hoagemont.

"There are several causes, but the most effective way is for another mystic to use his or her own powers to directly draw them out," Macavity elucidated, "When I discovered that Oswald was a mystic, I used a few of my charms to help him bring out his powers."

"How did he react to this discovery?" asked Hoagemont.

"He was a little overwhelmed at first, but quickly came to embrace it as a late gift," said Macavity, "In the time since that day, I've helped him take control of his powers and improve his ability. You see, in the unlikely yet always probable event that I should disappear or be assassinated, I plan for Oswald to take my place as the leader. I've essentially made him my apprentice."

Hoagemont looked down at Oswald, paying close attention to the wounds on his body. Then he looked back up at Macavity and said "Sir, forgive me for saying this, but are you really certain it was wise to make your apprentice one of your bodyguards?"

Macavity nodded again, saying "You see, Commander, there's a peculiar thing about mystics: we can heal any non-fatal wounds of any non-mystic in a heartbeat. But mystics are incapable of healing any wounds of another mystic, even if the wound is a mere scratch. Fortunately for us, we have a much faster rate of recovery than normal cats. That's why I'm predicting that Oswald will be back on his feet this time tomorrow night. And aside from that, if I'm going to trust Oswald to watch out for this organization, I need to at least be assured that I can trust him to watch out for me. He told me himself that he wanted no special treatment outside of his mystic training, so I treat him just like any other henchcat. Only he is much more important to me than the others."

"So that's why you were so concerned for him," Hoagemont realized.

As Macavity nodded, the Siamese Commander looked back down at Oswald. He rubbed his paws together a little nervously. The Hidden Paw noticed that Hoagemont had a somewhat apprehensive look in his eyes. He remarked "I've noted that in the twenty-four hours since you arrived, you've developed a friendship with all of my bodyguards. Most notably Oswald. Yet now you seem a little uncomfortable with the fact that he's a mystic."

"Oh, believe me, sir, I have nothing against him," Hoagemont assured the Hidden Paw, "Ever since the night of Growltiger's Last Stand, I have always been wary of mystics. I had a rather unpleasant encounter with one on the _Demagogue_ that night."

"Would you prefer to talk about something else, then?" Macavity offered.

Hoagemont lightly nodded and looked up.

"Have you enjoyed your time here so far?" queried the ginger cat.

"Indeed, I have," Hoagemont replied, "It's not as adventerous or as eventful as life on a warship, but at least it's something different from my old routine."

"What about your quarters, are you pleased with them?" asked Macavity.

"More than pleased," answered the Siamese officer, "They are wonderfully spacious, and I have just about everything I need to manage my work from there."

"What about your consort?" asked Macavity. "Have you helped yourself to her yet?"

Hoagemont smirked and remarked "Indeed, I have. Despite being a virgin, she was very good in bed. In fact, I would say that…"

Hoagemont abruptly stopped talking. He then looked over his shoulder and all around the room, as if he was searching for something.

"She's not here!" he declared, as he continued to look around the room frantically.

"Who?" asked Macavity in slight confusion.

"Paulina!" answered Hoagemont, "She was with us when we went to see Grumbuskin. But she's not here now!"

"Oh, shit," murmured Macavity as he lowered his leg from the bed to the ground, "We must have left her in Grumbuskin's cell."

"Then I'd suggest we go get her," stated Hoagemont.

Macavity nodded and turned towards the door. As he and Hoagemont made their way out, Macavity called out "Xerxes, Ullick, you're with us!"

The two henchcats hastily followed them out.

…

Back in Ratcliff, everything had calmed down. Ralpharite and the others had managed to convince Vecinha that she could trust them.

She had told the group that she had been a captive of the Siamese for the past few months and that they had performed horrible experiments on her. She had told them about Joreng, and how she was supposed to make her way to the house of his mate, Cathieel.

Ralpharite argued that Vecinha was in no condition to leave until her wound had time to heal. Vecinha wanted to argue, but ultimately agreed that he had a good point.

At that moment, Vecinha was outside, looking up at the star-filled sky. Everyone else was still inside the shed. Heurion had fallen asleep in the corner, and Geraldine had decided to take him into the house so she could tuck him into bed.

Once she returned, she spoke to the four toms.

"Vecinha is just what we need to expose the Siamese," she declared, "If we can find a way to increase the public's awareness on these experiments, then perhaps the feline navy will finally do something about this."

"Ma'am, as of right now, it would be much too hasty to do something of that sort," Ralpharite told her, "Vecinha is already under a great deal of trauma. Her friends are still being held prisoner. If the news were to hit the public's ear so suddenly, the Siamese might dispose of the Americans to avoid a confrontation with the authorities."

"Well, we have to do **something**!" Pouncival decided, "I for one agree with Geraldine. We can't keep this hidden forever!"

"We won't keep it hidden," Roshedam assured him, "But we still need a plan. Without a plan, there's no course of action we can take to help the Americans."

"But the Americans are dying!" Tumblebrutus argued, "Didn't you just hear a word Vecinha told you? They can only take so much pain until their bodies just give out. We have to do something about that!"

Ralpharite stepped forward and placed his paw on the young brown and white tom's shoulder and kneeled down in front of him. He told him "Tumble, I know exactly how you must be feeling right now. But if we are not careful, more innocent people can get hurt. Or even killed. That is why we have to take small steps until we are certain that we are strong enough to rescue the Americans and all the other victims of the Siamese."

Tumblebrutus sighed and leaned back against the wall of the shed. He commented "I suppose you're right, Ralph. I apologize for stepping out of line."

Ralpharite just smirked and stood up straight. He looked out the window and saw Vecinha sitting on the grass. She appeared to be shivering in the cold.

Ralpharite picked up a folded-up blanket and told the others "I'm going to talk to her. She still has yet to tell us what she and her colleagues were doing in London in the first place."

"You do that," said Pouncival, "Tumble and I will be by the front gates. We're waiting for a friend of ours to get back."

Ralpharite agreed to this and went outside. He made his way over to Vecinha. When he was directly behind her, he asked her "Care for some company?"

She looked over her shoulder and nodded without saying a word.

Ralpharite unfolded the blanket and wrapped it around her, saying "I know how cold it can get out here at night; I figured you'd like this."

"Thank you," she said gratefully, holding the ends of the blanket together near her upper chest.

"Are you sure you wouldn't want to come inside?" Ralpharite asked her, "It's much warmer in there."

"I appreciate the offer," she told him, "But I've been locked inside a basement for the past four months. I just want to be outside for a good long while to make up for that lost time."

"I don't blame you," said Ralpharite, "I know what it's like to be separated from a wonderful sight for so long. On that note, what brought you to London in the first place?"

Vecinha slowly over her shoulder at him and asked "Do you really want to know?"

"Indeed, I do," he nodded. He was honestly curious about this subject.

"Alright, I'll tell you," Vecinha began her explanation, "Six months ago, I graduated from the American Feline Navy Academy in New York. I placed in the top one hundred of my class. Ever year, the top one hundred students are given a special treat: the captain and crew of an already-commissioned vessel takes them to another country to sail on a famous river. The country and crew always differ. The three classes before mine went to the Nile in Egypt, the Danube in Germany, and the Amazon in Brazil."

"And your class got to see the Thames here in England?" assumed Ralpharite.

"Correct," she replied, "A month after graduation, I came here by plane with the rest of my class. Captain Jonathan of the U.S.S. _Desperado _and his crew were our supervisors. We spent a lot of time touring the city, but we also spent a fair amount of time by the Thames, as well. Then one night, about three weeks after we arrived, we went sailing at night. We were approaching the harbor at the Isle of Dogs when our ship was attacked. That was our first encounter with the Siamese. They were just too fast and too numerous for us to put up a real fight. We were all captured and transferred to one of their prison ships."

Vecinha paused for a moment. Then she continued a little uneasily "After this, they transferred us to one of our laboratories. They told us nothing except that we were 'no longer in control of our own fate.' Then they started performing the experiments on us. Some of them made us stronger; others were slowly killing us off. Now almost half of my friends are dead. I don't know how long the others will survive unless I can get them out of there."

Vecinha had almost brought herself to tears as she talked. Ralpharite placed a soothing paw on her shoulder, doing his best to comfort her.

"I had always wanted to see this city," she told him through wrenched sobs, "I had heard that London was one of the most beautiful places on the planet. Yet now that I have seen it, the first thing I'll always remember about it is how much pain and suffering I saw in the past four months. Not just my own, but that of my friends and colleagues, as well."

"I know how you feel," Ralpharite told her, "I was once the Intelligence Officer on the greatest vessel to ever sail on this river. We were a strong crew of ninety-five. But that was six months ago. Now, thanks to those Siamese butchers, there are only thirteen of us left."

Vecinha wiped her tears out of her eyes and looked back at Ralpharite. She wrapped her arm around him and said "Thank you for trying to comfort me. I really need to talk to somebody that understands my pain."

Ralpharite held Vecinha closer to her. The two of them looked up at the stars. The peaceful night sky was a blessing to both of them.

"Do you like stargazing?" she asked him.

"At times, yes," he replied, "The last time I went stargazing, it was in East Molesey. Ironically, it was also with a queen that I just met."

"I haven't been stargazing since I was in the United States," Vecinha told Ralpharite, "I would do it with my tomfriend every night."

"Hopefully, you'll be able to see him again after all this is over," Ralpharite suggested.

"I'm certain I will," Vecinha remarked, "You see, he's the younger brother of my Captain."

"Oh, really?" said Ralpharite, "What's his name?"

"His name is Peter," answered Vecinha.

At that, Ralpharite almost froze in surprise. He recalled the meeting that he and Roshedam had attended at the marina downtown earlier that evening.

"What's wrong?" Vecinha asked, noticing the stunned look on the red and white tabby's face.

Ralpharite did not answer straight away. He simply asked "Is your Captain by any chance an orange and grey tom?"

Vecinha raised an eyebrow in interest and replied "As a matter of fact, he is. Why do you ask?"

Ralpharite looked down at her and replied "Because I now have a feeling that you won't see your tomfriend after this is all over. You'll probably see him **before**."

…

While all this was going on, Jemima was still watching Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer practice their knife-fighting. She paid careful attention to every last detail of the fight itself, such as the movements of the combatants, the positions of the knives, and the strategies employed in both attack and defense stance.

After about a half-hour, Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer decided to call it a night.

Rumple looked up at her younger sister and told her "Sh'ow's ove', Jemmy."

Jemima nodded and stood up. She jumped off the junk pile and approached the two calico cats. Then she said "Mungo, Rumple, do you suppose that… you could teach me how to duel with a knife?"

Both of the calicos were stunned to hear such a request come out of Jemima's mouth. She was the last person they ever expected to learn such a deadly skill.

"Wh'oy do ya w'ant to le'arn th'at, Jem?" queried Mungojerrie.

"Tumble learned how to fight with a sword when he served under Growltiger," Jemima responded in her usual innocent yet monotonic voice, "I want to impress him somehow, so I was wondering if you could privately tutor me? Only if you feel up to it, of course."

Despite being the youngest and possibly most naïve member of the tribe, Jemima was very protective and courageous. She had a habit of surprising her friends and family in many unexpected yet pleasant ways.

Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer looked at each other and shrugged.

"W'e'll th'ink a'bout it," Mungo replied, smiling down at the young queen.

Jemima smiled gratefully, said "Thank you," and left the secondary clearing.


	22. Real World Feeling

**Note: I'm on a frickin' roll with incorporating songs into this thing, aren't I? The next one is – like the previous one – from the 1980's. However, unlike the previous one, my mother discovered this song before I did. But it is a really beautiful song. I thought it would perfectly fit the feelings that one particular character in this fic has about another. The song is called "Make It Real" by The Jets. Here's the link to it:**

**www. youtube .com ****watch?v=K8LLF-46FN8&ob=av2n**

** As usual, you should eliminate the spaces. ****(If for whatever reason the link doesn't work, just type in "Make It Real The Jets" on youtube and click on the first video that pops up)**. Also, as usual, I'll let you know when it will appropriate to play it in the background. I myself really enjoy this song; it has that type of charm and appeal that I find to be unique to most love songs from the 80s. 

**By the way, I apologize for how little Admetus and Etcetera have been present in these past few chapters. Originally, this fanfic was supposed to be about them mostly, but overtime, I've gone from turning it into an independent fanfic to something of a sequel to my previous CATS fanfic "The Boatswain." I'll do my best to include the two of them more from now on.**

**Now, on with the chapter!**

Across town, Admetus had reached the building where he had heard the drug deal was taking place. He had looked through all the first floor windows and found that there were only two men inside – both in the front sitting room. However, both men were armed with automatic weapons. This was more than enough to confirm that Admetus had found the right building.

After surveying the first floor windows, he looked around the ground for any windows to a basement or cellar. After circling the building one full time, he found a window to the sub-ground floor. Admetus carefully switched off his flashing eyes and peered inside.

Sure enough, there was his target. There were two groups of men gathered around a long rectangular table. Only two men were seated – one at either end. They were obviously the leaders of the two respective groups – the ones with the drugs and the ones with the money.

Admetus tried to listen in on the conversation, but the window was sealed tight.

All the same, he was very satisfied with his findings. In a way, he saw himself as being somewhat similar to a fisherman: there were plenty of unfortunate victims below; all he needed was a way to coax them all out.

…

Back at the Jellicle Junkyard, Tantomile was in her room. She had been there since early in the morning. The only person that had seen her all day was Coricopat.

She was busy drawing the same picture she had already drawn multiple times that day. The picture of the last tom that had truly made her feel loved, albeit only for a few days. For a reason she could not determine on her own, her dormant attraction to him was suddenly resurfacing. She felt an impulsive, insatiable desire to see this tom again. But in his absence, she was forced to resort to drawing him from memory as a way to best replicate his image.

Once she had finished the drawing, she set it aside and leaned back against her bed. She sat still, pondering on the meaning of her sudden inclination to draw Ralpharite over and over again.

After about five minutes, there was a knock at her door. She looked to the door and called out "Enter."

Her twin brother Coricopat opened the door slowly. He paused for a moment, looked around at all the drawings scattered about the room, and gazed across the room at his sister. "Still drawing pictures of… him?"

She merely nodded. Staring at the space in front of her, she stated "I just don't understand it, Cori. Ralpharite hasn't been around here since Growltiger's fall. But that was over five months ago, and out of nowhere, I'm practically fixated with him."

Coricopat closed the door to the room and walked over to his sister. He sat down next to her on her bed and placed his paw on her shoulder. He told her "I have a theory as to why that is, Tanto. You remember what I told you earlier about how psychics react when a past lover is near them?"

"Yes, of course I remember," she replied, "But I think it's highly unlikely that he would actually be here in London."

"Oh?" said Coricopat, raising an eyebrow, "I don't think you should dismiss that possibility just yet. You see, just a few minutes ago, I was talking to Skimbleshanks. During our conversation, one of his fellow colleagues from the train business – the one that handles the morning shifts – came by the junkyard and gave him some very interesting news."

"What did he have to say?" inquired Tantomile.

"He said that this morning a group of armed Siamese cats had visited the Waterloo Station during his shift," Coricopat enlightened her, "They asked him if they had seen two certain cats that had arrived from Travelcard Zone 6."

"Travelcard Zone 6?" said Tantomile, a little excitement in her voice "That's the line that leads to Molesey and Hampton!"

"I know," her brother continued, "Anyway, Skimble's coworker reported to his Siamese visitors that he had not seen any cats arrive from that railway line that morning. However, what he told **us **was quite different. He told us that two toms had in fact arrived in Travelcard Zone 6 just a few minutes before the Siamese arrived."

"Why did he lie to the Siamese?" queried Tantomile.

"My guess is he just hates them, like we do," theorized Coricopat, "He also happened to note the toms' physical appearances. One of them was a yellow and brown striped tom. The other was a red and white tabby."

A wide grin slowly came across Tantomile's face. "The latter must have been Ralpharite."

"We can only assume that his accomplice was Roshedam," remarked Coricopat, "I wonder what they could be doing in London? It still isn't safe for them to come out of hiding."

"Your guess is as good as mine," stated Tantomile. She stood up, picked up her most recent drawing of Ralpharite, and went over to the door.

"Where are you going?" Coricopat asked.

"The Westminster Docks," his sister responded nonchalantly.

He jumped to his feet and said "Wait right there. The docks? At this time of night?"

"Better night than day; nobody's around," she reasoned.

"That may be, but why do you need to go now?" asked Coricopat.

"That was where Ralpharite and I first met," Tantomile answered, "I just want to visit the site tonight."

"Why tonight?" Cori almost demanded.

"Because in terms of cat years, tonight's the one-year anniversary from the day he and I met," Tanto responded.

Coricopat was about to open his mouth to protest when Tantomile spoke out again. She said "Cori, please don't try to stop me. You don't know what it's like to feel this way. You have only read about this sensation of obsession; you've never genuinely experienced it. Just let me visit the docks on my own, and then I swear that I'll let this matter go. I'll stop the drawings and move on."

Coricopat sighed in reluctance and nodded his head. "Alright then, Tanto. But first, there is one thing I want to know."

"What might that be?" she enquired.

He slowly stood up, walked over to her, and stated "Normally, I wouldn't delve into other people's personal lives, but you're my sister, so it's fundamentally my right to know: did you sleep with Ralpharite?"

Coricopat was expecting there to be an incredibly long and awkward void of silence between his question and his sister's answer. This was not the case. Instead, less than five seconds after asking, Tantomile replied straightforwardly "Yes. Yes, I did sleep with him. But you should know I'm not ashamed in the slightest. You can go ahead and tell Father that."

With that, Tantomile left the den, taking one of her drawings with her.

Coricopat stood at the door to his sister's room and looked back in. He loved and cared for his sister a great deal, as she loved and cared for him in turn. He wanted to help her, but he knew that she was absolutely right about one particular thing: he had never experienced infatuation.

Being the elder of the two by just a few minutes, he had always taken on the responsibility of the typical older sibling. However, he never dominated any aspect of his sister's life, least of all her romances. But unlike his sister, he had only been in love with one queen for the whole of his life. This queen happened to be his mate, the reclusive yet gentle and somewhat misunderstood Exotica. The two of them had been in love with each other since kittenhood, and each of them had been the other's only true love. Exotica almost had a fling with Rum Tum Tugger once, but that never went anywhere.

Tantomile, on the other hand, had had three lovers in her lifetime. The first had been Tugger. This romance lasted a good six days before Tantomile left him for being a "drama tom." Her second romance had been with a tom that had been born outside the Jellicle Tribe. She had fallen in love with this tom; he seemed to be the ideal type to become involved with. This relationship ended when she discovered that he was actually one of Macavity's henchcats. Despite his claim that he was not just feigning his interest in her or working on Macavity's assignment, she never went to see him again.

The third flame was Ralpharite. Ever since the day the two of them had been forced to go separate ways, Tantomile had found herself unable to love another tom in such a powerful way. Coricopat would have been considered for this abrupt change in her behavior, but his sister had promised that she would move on as soon as she got back from the docks. He was certain that she would keep her promise as she always did.

…

Across town, the Siamese warship the _Draco_ was arriving at the laboratory with the American test subjects. It had been sent there on the orders of Fleet Commander Mouveilyr. Its assignment was simple: Drop off their Combat Officer – Lieutenant Filvaro – and wait for him to return with one of the guards, Lieutenant Joreng.

Although he did not particularly show it, Filvaro was eager to visit his younger brother. They had not seen each other ever since Joreng had been transferred to the laboratory's security staff.

In fact, just before they arrived, Filvaro had had the _Draco_ stop at Joreng's house and pick up his mate, Cathieel. After enlightening her on what had happened earlier that evening, she was extremely worried about her mate's well-being. She wanted to see him straight away for to assure herself that he was alright.

Once the _Draco _was properly docked, Filvaro disembarked onto the harbor. Cathieel followed him to the front entrance.

There were many more guards outside than before. Clearly, security had been firmly tightened in just the past few hours. Filvaro stepped up to the front entrance and entered his universal passcode. The computer panel acknowledged his passcode and opened the door for him.

As soon as the door was opened, Filvaro came face-to-face with Commander Goyler, the Director of the laboratory. He was accompanied by three armed guards.

"Good evening, Lieutenant," he greeted the younger tom.

"Good evening, Director," responded the combat officer, "I've come to see-"

"Your brother, I know," Goyler politely interrupted him, "Lieutenant Joreng is in the infirmary. He's still unconscious, but he should wake up at any time. Come, I'll take you to him."

Goyler made his way through the corridors to the infirmary. Filvaro, Cathieel, and the guards followed him close behind. After passing through three hallways, they arrived at the infirmary. The guards remained outside while the other three cats went in.

There were over two dozen beds in the room, but only two of them were occupied. Joreng was lying on a bed off to one end of the room. A single nurse was taking his pulse and heartbeat.

The other occupied bed was surrounded by doctors. They appeared to be in the middle of an operation. Filvaro noticed this and asked Goyler "Who's in that bed?"

"The guard other than Joreng who survived Vecinha's breakout," answered Goyler, "She banged him up pretty badly, but the biggest problem has to do with where she stabbed him with that shard of glass."

"Yes, Commander Hoagemont was certain to include that in his report," Filvaro recalled, "Is there any hope for the guy? Or is he better off dead?"

"We think we can help him," Goyler stated confidently, "Right now, he's undergoing advanced reconstructive surgery. It's a bit of a longshot, but the procedure just might work."

"For his sake, let's hope it does," commented Filvaro, "I'd still like to know why Vecinha did not simply just kill him. Why did she want him to suffer this form of… emasculation?"

"Perhaps your brother may know why," suggested Goyler. At that, he walked over to Joreng's bed and asked the nurse at the young tom's side "How is he?"

"He should regain consciousness at any moment," she replied, "His pulse and heart rate are normal, and his breathing is even. It shouldn't be long now."

Goyler, Filvaro, and Cathieel decided to wait around for something to happen. After about five minutes, Joreng slowly awoke and sat up, rubbing his head with his right front paw. Even though Vecinha had been careful to knock him out without doing any significant damage, her blow still packed quite a great amount of force.

Joreng was surprised to see his mate and his brother standing right in front of him. Pleasantly surprised, though. He smiled at them and remarked casually "Where's the party?"

Cathieel and Filvaro both scoffed at his little remark. Cathieel walked to her mate and embraced him lovingly. He returned the show of affection justly.

Filvaro sat on the adjacent bed and stated "It's good to see you again, Jor."

"Thanks, Fil; the feeling is mutual," said Joreng as Cathieel released him, "However, I'm curious. Why are you here? And what happened?"

"The inmate you were last guarding – this 'Vecinha' – broke out of the laboratory," Filvaro enlightened his younger brother, "Father sent me here to investigate the matter."

"Did he ask you to interrogate me?" queried Joreng.

"No, that wouldn't be the correct term," said Filvaro, "It took her a while, but Vecinha managed to evade the security perimeter. When Father caught wind of the event, he authorized a search for her. Since you are one of only two survivors from her breakout, he thinks you might know something about her tactics that could help us recapture her."

"There's not that much I really know," Joreng reservedly admitted, "But she was really fast. Believe me, it took her only a few seconds to break free of her restraints. By then, she had already killed Dr. Blairen and one of the other guards. I tried to get a good shot at her with my rifle, but she had anticipated that. To avoid getting shot at, she always made sure that there was another person between herself and me. Eventually, she killed everyone save for me. I tried to shoot her down, but I wasn't quick enough."

Goyler stepped forward and told him assuredly "You mustn't blame yourself; there was nothing you could have done. Just be thankful that you're alive."

"I am, sir; believe me," said Joreng, "I thought I was a complete goner the split-second before I lost consciousness. I mean, it was as if I was literally staring death in the… wait, who's that on the other bed there?"

By then, Joreng had noticed that one of the beds in the center of the room was occupied and that several of the physicians were laboring over another patient.

"The other survivor," Goyler replied, "He's currently undergoing some very complicated surgery."

"Why?" asked Joreng, "What happened to him?"

Cathieel whispered something into her mate's ear. In response, Joreng made a disgusted face and said "Ouch. That would probably hurt like shit. Who is that?"

"Yabunet," answered Goyler, "We're still trying to figure out why Vecinha did that to him. It would have made more sense to have just killed him then to…"

"Yabunet?" Joreng cut in, raising an eyebrow "Oh, I know full well why Vecinha didn't kill him."

"You do?" said Filvaro.

"Yes," nodded Joreng, furrowing his brow, "She left him alive to suffer because... he raped her."

Filvaro and Cathieel both seemed shocked to hear this answer. Goyler, on the other hand, was not particularly surprised.

"You mean Yabunet once took advantage of one of the prisoners?" queried Filvaro.

"No, not once," Joreng replied, a bit of anger notable in his voice "But eight times. And he's not the only one; a great many of the male guards have been taking advantage of the female inmates. All of them could even be innocent, but the guards don't care. If you ask me, Yabunet got what he deserved."

Now Filvaro, Cathieel, **and** Goyler were surprised by this comment. Filvaro glared at his younger brother, snapping "How can you say something like that? Yabunet was almost deprived of his tomhood!"

"Well, then excuse me for stating my opinion, but I believe that any tom who believes it is alright to rape a helpless queen should have his tomhood taken away from him," Joreng stated flatly.

"Joreng, this 'helpless queen' of which you speak killed twelve of my staff just a few hours ago," Goyler pointed out, "Their bodies are in the morgue. Take one look at them and tell me then that you believe Vecinha had a right to mutilate Yabunet in such a manner."

"I appreciate your suggestion, sir," Joreng remarked sarcastically, "But I'll pass. I've seen enough death for one day."

"Well, I'd still like to see the bodies," Filvaro told the Director, "Maybe their remains will tell us something more about Vecinha's basic tactics. They could be more useful to us dead than alive in a way."

"Very well, Filvaro; come with me," Goyler gestured to a door that led into a neighboring room, obviously the morgue. Just before the two of them left, Filvaro turned to Joreng and told him "That reminds me; I have orders to relieve you of duty."

"What?" said Joreng, a little stunned, "Why do you need to relieve me of duty?"

"Father believes it to be for the best," answered Filvaro simply, "You've been working your ass off, and he wants you to take some vacation time."

Joreng shrugged and stated "If Father wishes it, I will take some time off work."

"Good," said Filvaro. He turned back to Goyler, and the two of them made their way to the morgue. Sure enough, there were twelve corpses in there. Eight of them had been killed by Vecinha in the experiment room. The other four had been killed by her when she had gotten outside.

This left Joreng alone with Cathieel. All the other doctors in the room were entirely focused on Yabunet's operation, so the two mates had virtually complete liberty to talk about private matters. As a precautionary measure, they never spoke above a whisper.

"Did you get my message?" Joreng asked her.

"Yes, I received it and read it at around three o'clock this afternoon," she replied.

"Well, did she make it?" said Joreng, speaking with high hopes.

Cathieel did not answer him directly. She paused for a long while. But her silence already gave her mate her answer.

"Oh, no," Joreng muttered under his breath.

"I waited for her, just as you instructed me to do," Cathieel explained, "I expected her to arrive at around ten o'clock. But she never came. I would have waited there all night, but then Filvaro had the _Draco _come by and pick me up."

Joreng had a very uneasy look across his face. It had taken weeks of preparations to stage this solitary breakout. He had hoped that it would result in success, but based on the present circumstances, he was not certain as to whether it had been a success or a failure.

"Don't worry, she'll turn up eventually," Cathieel assured her mate, "I'm certain she's alright."

Joreng shrugged and sat up a little more. He told Cathieel "I suppose we should be optimistic about this. Now that I've been temporarily relieved of duty, we can search for her, too."

Cathieel appeared to have mixed feelings about this idea. Joreng noticed and asked "Is something bothering you, sweetie?"

"Well, Joreng…" she hesitantly began, "You do know that I love you and that I'll always back you up, right?"

"Of course," he stated, "I love you, as well, and I'll always support you."

"Then you'll hear what I have next to say," Cathieel continued, "While I do think that finding Vecinha before the fleet finds her should be a high priority, I also think that you should listen to your brother and enjoy your vacation time. Personally enjoy it, I mean."

"I'll certainly enjoy it, as long as I'm with you," Joreng smiled and pulled his mate closer. When he saw the deadly serious look in her eyes, he stated "Cathieel, I have a feeling that there's something you're not telling me. Is there anything you'd care to share?"

She deeply sighed and told him "Joreng, I'm pregnant."

…

Back in Ratcliff, Tumblebrutus and Pouncival were standing watch at the front gate. They did not know when Admetus would be back, but all the same, they both kept a close eye out. Ralpharite and Vecinha were back inside the shed. Ralph was discussing his most recent discovery with Roshedam and Geraldine.

"Vecinha has told me all about her tomfriend," he was explaining to them, "So far, everything we know about that founder of the Siamese Resistance – little though it may be – matches up to Vecinha's description. She and I have ample reason to believe that the founder and her tomfriend are the same person."

"That's quite incredible," remarked Roshedam, "That certainly would explain why you couldn't determine Peter's accent earlier."

"Indeed," said Ralpharite, "However, the only way we'll know for certain if this is the same Peter is if Vecinha comes face-to-face with him."

"That's an excellent idea," Vecinha agreed, "When would you suggest we carry out this meeting?"

"Given the numerous benefits of thinking ahead of the game, I believe that it would be wise to arrange it as soon as possible," Roshedam stated, "In fact, you could just bring together a meeting without any prior notice."

"You recommend that we hold the meeting tonight?" assumed Ralpharite.

"Yes, exactly," said Roshedam, "That would seem to be the most logical course of action."

"If that's the case, then I'd suggest you hurry to the marina," Geraldine advised him, "The shops close at midnight. Any shop open longer than that is subject to search and seizure by the Siamese fleet."

"Then let's go now," Vecinha reasoned.

"Good thinking," agreed Roshedam. He began to reach for his backpack, but Ralpharite stopped him.

"No, Rosh, you stay here," Ralpharite instructed his best friend, "There's always a possibility that some Siamese are searching the river already for Vecinha. If that's the case, I'll need you here to protect Geraldine and the others."

"I'm perfectly capable of watching out for myself, sir," remarked Geraldine, "Even though I appreciate the offer."

"Aside from that, Ralph, you might encounter an entire platoon of Siamese soldiers," Roshedam pointed out.

"All the more reason for only one of us to go," Ralpharite argued, "Even when together, the two of us couldn't take down an entire platoon. It's better to risk just one of us than the both of us. And, seeing as how I am the senior officer and you are the one with a mate and child, it is most appropriate that you remain here while I escort Vecinha to the marina."

Ultimately, Roshedam agreed to this arrangement. After Ralpharite had all of his supplies in his backpack, he and Vecinha prepared to leave. Roshedam lent Vecinha his "stray cat" pass, just in case she and Ralph encountered the Pollicles again.

Once everything was in order, the red and white tabby and the young brown and gold queen made their way down to the marina near Lambeth.

…

While all of this had been going on, Paulina had been with Grumbuskin and Grizabella in the basement of Macavity's warehouse. Both of the elderly cats had briefly explained their backstory. Grumbuskin had done most of the talking after their formal introductions. He had gone into detail about how he and the other surviving members of Growltiger's crew had been forced to go into hiding after the Last Stand.

He had spent a considerable amount of time describing how Griddlebone was one of Macavity's agents and how the other survivors were being manipulated by her.

"You asked us earlier if there was anything you could do to help us," Grumbuskin recalled, "Because you share a room with the Siamese ambassador, there are two things I have in mind."

"I'm listening, sir," Paulina assured him.

"I want you to try to find something that could strain – if not shatter – the alliance between Macavity's organization and the Siamese fleet," stated Grumbuskin, "That might prove a little difficult to accomplish, but keep your ears and eyes open for anything. The second task I have for you is to attempt to find a way to send a message to my colleagues in Hampton; somehow let them know that they are being deceived by my Captain's mate."

"These tasks certainly sound difficult, sir," Paulina admitted, "But all the same, I will do what I can to get them done. Just know one thing: even if both of you are alone in here for a very long time, you still have an ally up there."

The two elderly cats smiled at the young queen; she smiled in return. That was the first time anyone had ever seen her break her normally neutral facial expression. She had a lovely smile; a radiant one, in fact.

Just then, the door to the cell opened and Macavity and the Siamese ambassador stood in the door frame.

"Paulina, come," Hoagemont calmly but firmly ordered the young queen.

"Yes, sir," Paulina replied.

She turned to the door and approached it quickly but serenely. Just before she stepped out the room, she turned back at the two elderly cats and looked upon them with a great look of empathy and sympathy in her eyes.

As soon as Paulina stepped outside, Macavity closed the cell door, leaving Grizabella and Grumbuskin alone once more.

…

By this time, Tantomile had reached the Westminster docks. She walked around the wooden platforms, gazing from the gorgeous moon to the tranquil waters to her flawless drawing of Ralpharite. All these objects put together made her mind feel at ease.

Tantomile knew that she once loved Ralpharite. However, she was not quite certain as to whether or not he loved her just as much in return. It remained a simply mystery to her. But it was a mystery she was very eager to solve.

The present scenario reminded her very much of a song she once heard. It was a rhythm and blues love song from the 1980s. A song by the American band The Jets. In fact, she found that the song described her feelings so well that she was inclined to sing it.

At that same time, Ralpharite and Vecinha happened to be passing through Westminster. Tantomile did not notice them. However, Vecinha **did **notice Tantomile. She pointed the psychic queen out to Ralpharite.

The red and white tabby did not recognize Tantomile immediately, so he and Vecinha decided to pause for a moment to observe her.

**(Now you can play the song. I think it would actually help if you pretend that Tantomile has the same voice as the singer)**

Tantomile stood up and leaned against one of the wooden supports on the front of the docks. She looked down at her drawing, and then out into the waters. Then she began to sing:

"Tonight… it's been a year.  
We met each other here.  
Here I am… all alone.  
As thoughts of you go on.

Hear me cryin' out to you  
You said, 'Never, never… would I leave.'  
Here's a tear from me to you…  
And maybe it will make you hear me

I loved you  
You didn't feel the same  
Though we're apart  
You're in my heart  
Give me one more chance to  
Make it real."

Ralpharite quickly realized who it was that was singing. He whispered to Vecinha "I know this queen. She's a member of the Jellicle Tribe."

"The Jellicle Tribe?" said Vecinha, slightly confused.

"A tribe of cats who worship a type of Mystical Divinity," Ralpharite clarified, "Pouncival and Tumblebrutus are part of this tribe as well."

The two of them got a little closer to Tantomile as she continued to sing:

"In a dream… you are here.  
You smile and hold me near.  
And in my heart… I'll pretend  
that you are here again

Hear me cryin' out to you  
You said, 'Never, never… would I leave.'  
Here's a tear from me to you  
and maybe it will make you hear me

I loved you  
You didn't feel the same  
Though we're apart  
You're in my heart  
Give me one more chance to  
Make it real."

Before long, Ralpharite could see the drawing Tantomile was holding in her paws. He easily noted how much similarity it had to his own image. Putting that together with everything else – the docks, the song, and the person there – he quickly realized who and what Tantomile was singing about.

At that moment, Tantomile was so focused on her song that she did not even sense Ralpharite or Vecinha approach her from behind.

She finished up her song:

"I loved you  
You didn't feel the same  
Though we're apart  
You're in my heart  
Give me one more chance to  
Make it real.

Give me one more chance to  
Make it real."

When she finished singing, she looked down at the drawing and folded it up tightly. Then she sighed and leaned against the wooden support.

At that moment, she felt a pair of paws on her shoulder. She was initially startled, but then she heard a voice tell her "A wonderful song. There's just three things I'd like to point out. One: you are not alone. Two: I **did **feel the same – and I still do. Three: you did make it real."

Tantomile slowly turned around and saw Ralpharite himself smiling down at her. She grinned in return and warmly embraced him. He held her close in return, as if he did not want to let her go.


End file.
